More legal claims are being filed against the manufacturer of Stryker LFIT hip implant replacement system following the recall of its femoral head component. As the number of federal claims increases, plaintiffs have filed a motion to consolidate them into a multidistrict litigation, or MDL.

Plaintiffs filed the motion with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Jan. 13, 2017. The motion seeks to transfer all pending federal court cases over the Stryker LFIT hip replacement to a single court under a single judge with the intent to coordinate pretrial motions, discovery and bellwether trials.

There are currently fewer than a dozen product liability lawsuits that have been filed in federal court over the Stryker LFIT femoral head that was recalled last year. However, a number of lawyers are reviewing potential cases, and it is anticipated that hundreds more lawsuits will shortly be filed over complications associated with the medical device.

The Stryker LFIT recall was issued after a number of complications were reported in association with the use of the device. Premature failure of the hip implants, metal poisoning in the blood, product corrosion and more were found with the Stryker LFIT hip replacement’s use.

Australia was the first to recall the Stryker LFIT, saying that certain femoral heads that were manufactured prior to 2011 were at risk of experiencing taper lock failures. These failures can cause pain, inflammation, loss of mobility, dislocation, adverse local tissue reactions and more.

According to the plaintiffs’ motion, “[p]laintiffs contend that Stryker knew for years that the LFIT V40 femoral heads were defective and dangerous but instead chose to downplay the risk of using such device and failed to properly warn hundreds of physicians implanting these devices into thousands of patients across the country.

“Plaintiffs further claim that the LFIT V40 femoral head was defectively designed, manufactured and marketed by the defendants resulting in serious and significant injury to consumers,” the motion reads.

The motion requests the current pending hip implant lawsuits and any future claims be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The hope is that by doing so, duplicative discovery into common issues can be reduced, conflicting pretrial rulings can be avoided, and the parties, witnesses and judicial system will be coordinated in a single location.

It is anticipated that the JPML will begin considering oral arguments on the motion for a Stryker LFIT hip replacement MDL in Phoenix on March 30.

If the motion is approved and current pending and future claims are sent to federal court in Massachusetts, it may promote resolution of these claims via settlement. If settlements do not occur after the coordinated discovery and any bellwether trials, then the individual hip implant lawsuits may be remanded back to their original court to perform an individual trial.

Filing a Stryker LFIT Hip Replacement Lawsuit

If you have suffered from complications of a Stryker LFIT hip replacement, you may be able to take legal action against the manufacturer to recover damages associated with medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of income and earnings, loss of spousal companionship and more. An experienced attorney is available to conduct a free case review for those who qualify.