A man has filed a Zimmer metal on metal hip implant lawsuit after he needed painful revision surgery due to metal poisoning and tissue death.

Plaintiff Steven W. says he received the metal on metal hip system in his left hip in May 2004. At that time, the Zimmer Biomet M2a 38 that he received allegedly had known problems, including early failure due to excessive metal-on-metal wear and other factors. He claims Zimmer Biomet allegedly failed to disclose the risks to Steven, his doctors or the public.

In January 2017, Steven says he underwent a “costly and painful revision surgery.” During the surgery, his doctor allegedly observed metallosis (metal poisoning).

Zimmer Metal on Metal Hip Implant Problems Allegedly Hidden

According to the complaint, Zimmer allegedly knew by the year 2000 that heavy metal poisoning was possible due to the number of particles produced by the metal on metal hip system and that the particles were toxic. The cobalt and chromium parts that rubbed together in the hip system could allow small metal fragments to shred and become lodged in nearby tissue.

These metal fragments can release metal ions that cause the tissues and bone to die. In the meantime, the metal ions leach into the bloodstream.

As the metal fragments settle into tissue, the body often reacts by sending fluid to the site in an attempt to flush away the particles. The fluid accumulation can lead to a pseudotumor, which is a collection of fluid that mimics a tumor.

The Zimmer metal on metal hip implant lawsuit alleges the company neglected to sufficiently test the M2a system. Steven says Zimmer admitted to European surgeons in a 2012 safety alert that the M2a had a “higher than expected failure rate,” but continued to sell the system in the U.S. until 2015.

The metal hip replacement lawsuit alleges that hip implant sales were important to the company because managers were trying to make the company appear appealing to investors. Managers announced that Biomet was being sold to medical device competitor Zimmer Holdings, Inc. for $13.35 billion.

“Throughout this time period, Biomet was faced with a critical defect in one of its most profitable hip implant systems,” says the Zimmer hip system lawsuit. But the company allegedly hid the problems for the sake of corporate profits.

Also in 2014, Biomet settled an MDL regarding the M2a metal-on-metal hip implants for $56 million. Plaintiffs across the country had complained of early implant failure, metal poisoning, pseudotumors, tissue death and bone damage caused by the metal-on-metal components scraping away at each other. At that time, Biomet refused to say the patients’ injuries were due to the M2a hip systems.

Studies indicate patients who need hip revision surgeries are at a higher risk of dislocation compared with original hip replacement surgeries. In one study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, hip replacement patients who underwent a revision surgery were nearly four times more apt to suffer from hip dislocation.

The Zimmer Metal on Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:19-cv-00028-SJD in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Cincinnati Division.