A Colorado resident recently filed a hip replacement lawsuit against Biomet, Inc. after his M2a Magnum hip replacement surgery led to severe complications.

Plaintiff Mark H. underwent hip replacement surgery on Jan. 3, 2005 where he received a Biomet Magnum M2a hip implant system.

Over time, however, the Mark allegedly began experiencing hip replacement problems including suffering from pain around his implant, limiting his mobility.

As a result of the pain, Mark went in for testing. His blood work confirmed that both his blood and plasma registered very high levels of chromium and cobalt metals, a condition known as metallosis or blood poisoning.

The hip replacement surgery lawsuit alleges that Biomet was responsible for the defective metal hip implant which caused Mark’s hip replacement surgery to fail, injuring him and forcing him to undergo revision surgery to remove the implant.

The revision surgery that Mark was forced to undergo was, according to the lawsuit, both risky and painful. Hip replacement revision surgeries lead to a greater chance of serious hip replacement problems, so Mark is currently at an even greater risk of complications than he was before.

Mark’s hip replacement lawsuit claims Biomet is responsible for the failed hip implant, partially because the device was not adequately tested. According to the Biomet lawsuit, the device in question—the M2a Magnum Hip System—allows the metal components to rub together under great pressure, which can cause unusual amounts of metal to corrode, spreading into the body.

These complications can lead a hip replacement surgery patient’s body to reject the hip implant altogether. Rejection often involves pain, looseness, and dislocation.

The lawsuit claims that Biomet should have been aware of the issues linked with its metal hip implant device, but instead continued to market the device as safe and effective.

Mark filed his hip replacement surgery lawsuit on multiple counts, including manufacturing and design defect, failure to warn, negligence, and fraudulent concealment, among several others.

Hip Replacement Surgery Risks

According to Biomet lawsuits like this one, the design of the M2a Magnum Hip System was never approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe or effective. Lawsuits further claim that the device was insufficiently tested.

According to a hip replacement surgery study conducted out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, patients who have gone through hip replacement surgery revision are four times more likely to suffer from hip dislocation than patients who only went through initial hip replacement surgery.

If you have had undergone hip replacement surgery and have since experienced pain or have evidence of elevated levels of metal in your blood, there may be a connection.

Many hip replacement surgery patients have chosen to file lawsuits against Biomet, seeking compensation of hundreds of thousands of dollars to help cover medical bills, as well as help make up for the pain and suffering caused by the hip implant.

The Biomet Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Case No. 3:12-md-02391-RLM-CAN in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.