New Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Implant Lawsuit Joins MDL

{loadposition replacement_hip_lawsuit}

A Louisiana couple’s Stryker Rejuvenate metal hip implant lawsuit was transferred into multidistrict litigation on July 16. The Stryker hip implant MDL is designed to speed up the legal process. Dolores and Ronald Phelps allege that the product, produced by Howmedica Osteonics Corporation, led to numerous side effects for Dolores.

Dolores underwent a hip replacement procedure in July 2011, and the modular neck and stem reportedly fretted, or rubbed together producing metal shavings including cobalt chromium. Stryker Rejuvenate hip implants have been known to cause side effects like metallosis and other medical conditions that “can be latent, longstanding, severe and life-threatening, affecting the central nervous system, heart, kidney, lungs and other organs,” the hip implant lawsuit states.

The Phelps sued under the Louisiana Products Liability Act, including counts of defective design and manufacture, breaches of express and implied warranties, as well as loss of consortium. Specifically, their Stryker hip implant attorney alleges that the company knew or should have known that the devices had substantial risk of fretting at the modular neck and stem system because of decades of research regarding the interaction of the two components, regardless of any protective coating.

In fact, problems with the Stryker Rejuvenate and another Stryker hip implant, the ABG II, causing metallosis in patients led to a  June 2012 voluntary recall by subsidiary Howmedica Osteonics Corporation. The company, along with other medical device makers, have not subjected their products to a new FDA approval program that would require additional safety data, a point likely to be cited by Stryker metal implant attorneys in any upcoming trial. An additional development is the addition of spouses such as Ronald Phelps to hip implant lawsuits, which allows them to include a count of loss of consortium.

The couple’s Stryker Rejuvenate metal hip implant lawsuit is Dolores and Ronald Phelps v. Howmedica Osteonics Corp., and Stryker Corporation, Case No. 13-cv-01821, originally filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana. It was transferred to the Stryker hip implant MDL known as In Re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABGII Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2441) on July 16.

Get Help for Your Metal Hip Implant Injuries

Many people with significant hip problems received implants that were supposed to be stronger through the use of metal-on-metal joint replacements that later failed or leached cobalt chromium shavings into their body. Legal options are available, but the first step is to establish one’s eligibility with a free consultation. Get one by filling out the short form at the Stryker Metal Hip Implant Recall Class Action Lawsuit Investigation today. You may be eligible to pursue compensatory damages as a result of a defective product and lost quality of life.