Biomet Hip Replacement Lawsuit Filed in Texas

Texas resident Billie Gavin has brought allegations against Biomet Orthopedics, LLC for injuries she allegedly sustained after she received a total hip replacement in 2004.

Biomet’s hip replacement product, the Biomet M2A Magnum System, was implanted into Ms. Gavin and allegedly caused her to suffer pain in her groin area and hip, trouble walking, inflammation, complications with her right hip, in addition to problems sitting, standing, and moving up and down stairs, according to the lawsuit.  Gavin says in the Biomet hip lawsuit that had known the risks of the hip replacement, she would have opted out of the procedure entirely. 

The Biomet Hip Replacement Device

Defendant Biomet Orthopedics created and manufactured their Biomet hip implant “in order to reconstruct human hip joints due to conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis (AVN), functional deformity or femoral fracture.”

The hip joint connects the femur bone of a patient’s leg to the patient’s pelvis. The Biomet M2A Magnum is made up of three components: the metal femoral stem (inserted within the femur), the metal femoral head (a ball that connects to the stem) and then that fits inside the metal acetabular cup (a socket designed to hold the ball). 

These particular hip replacement systems are supposed to last a minimum of 15 years before another hip replacement is suggested. According to the lawsuit, “The Biomet device was not subject to the rigorous premarket approval (PMA) testing and approval pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 360(e). Instead, Defendants obtained approval from the FDA to market the Biomet M2A Magnum device in the United States through the 51 O(k) premarket notification process pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 360(k) asserting that it was substantially equivalent to other metal-on-metal hip replacement systems already available on the market.” 

Marketing Schemes

Gavin alleges in the Biomet hip lawsuit that in April 2010, Biomet bragged about the superiority of their metal hip implant but just a year later in May, the FDA ordered that all makers of metal-on-metal hip implant systems conduct surveillance studies. 

In addition, there were research protocols demanded by the FDA. These protocols included studies regarding certain safety concerns such as “loosening, adverse local tissue reactions and increased metal ions in the blood, related to the metal-on-metal devices and then provide the FDA with the study results for review and analysis.” 

There are also accusations of their metal-on-metal hip implant system simply being a defective product. According to Gavin’s lawsuit, the femoral head and acetabular cup becomes so worn down that it introduces cobalt and chromium metal ions in the blood of patients. 

The metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit is formally titled Billie Gavin v. Biomet Orthopedics, LLC, Biomet, Inc., case 3:13-cv-01027-RLM-CAN in the United States Northern District Court of Indiana. 

Take Action Now At No Cost to You! 

If you would like more information about filing a metal-on-metal hip implant class action lawsuit or would like to file an individual hip implant lawsuit, just go to the Metal on Metal Hip Replacement Implant Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. You can submit your information, or your loved ones’, to hip replacement lawyers who are actively investigating all claims regarding metal hip implant cancer, tumors, metal poisoning and other hip replacement complications. Hip implant attorneys are waiting to talk to you now and the consultation is free. These lawyers don’t get paid unless you win or settle.