A new plaintiff has stepped forward to join others claiming a Stryker hip implant system is defective. This new lawsuit, like the others, joins Stryker LFIT V40 femoral head products liability multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2768.

The complainant—Dale W.—is a citizen and resident of the state of Pennsylvania where he was implanted with the Stryker hip implant system. He has named the Howmedica Osteonics Corp. as defendant in this case.

Litigation concerning the Stryker hip implant system has been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts for judicial efficiency. Dale W. claims personal injury and economic loss related to the May 6, 2013 implantation of the Stryker hip implant system consisting of the LFIT CoCr V40 femoral head and Accolade 2 stem.

The surgery took place at Altoona Regional Health System in Altoona, Pennsylvania and was completed by Dr. Robert Singer, an orthopedic surgeon.

The Stryker hip implant system was recalled from the market. Until that time, Dale alleges, he couldn’t have known that his problems and injuries were related to the implanted device, according to his short-form complaint.

He says he had his blood drawn at the time and discovered that he had unusually high levels of cobalt and chromium attributable to this device. The metals in the blood are believed to be related to corrosion and fretting of the metal-on-metal Stryker hip implant system.

If left untreated, the metal shards can cause pseudo-tumors around the joint which cause severe inflammation, a reduction in range of motion, tissue death, bone loss, a type of cancer, or heart disease.

To take care of the matter, a patient must be subjected to a hip revision surgery in which the prosthetic is removed and replaced with an alternative. This second surgery comes with a number of risks including blood clots, leg length discrepancies, and difficulty getting a new unit to adhere properly.

Dale brings forth several counts from the master MDL against the defendants that include but aren’t limited to Defective Design, Manufacturing Defect, Negligence, Breach of Implied and Express Warranties, Failure to Warn, Negligent Representation, Violation of State Consumer Fraud Laws, and Unjust Enrichment.

The plaintiff is asking for a trial by jury with a compensatory award on his behalf reflective of the injuries he sustained. He is also asking for statutory damages and all court and attorney costs associated with the suit to be given him. He hopes for punitive damages to be assessed against the defendant.

The Recall

The Stryker LFIT V40 femoral head was voluntarily recalled by Howmedica towards the end of August 2016. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration supported this effort by formalizing the recall of 42,519 units globally.

The reason given for this action was that they had had problems with the taper lock of the stem and femoral head becoming disassociated. Additionally, the recall mentioned the noted issues with higher-than-normal blood cobalt and chromium levels related to the Stryker hip implant system.

The Stryker Hip Implant System Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-12440-IT in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.