Birmingham Hip Implant Resurfacing Lawsuit News. Over the past ten years, metal on metal (MOM) hip implants have been under fire over their increased risk of premature failure and serious complications of metal poisoning and localized hip soft tissue reactions causing pseudotumors.
Birmingham Hip Implant Resurfacing Lawsuit News. Smith & Nephew Birmingham Resurfacing implant premature hip failure is linked to an alleged design defect causing personal injury, metallosis, pain and need for risky revision surgery according to lawsuits.
Scope of the Hip Implant Problems
Metal hip replacement devices are expected to last 10 years or more. But many newer-generation hip replacement devices have a higher failure rate because of the corrosive interaction between metal-on-metal components.
Thousands of product liability lawsuits have been brought against metal-on-metal hip implants sold in the United States, including the DePuy ASR Hip, DePuy Pinnacle hip, Wright Conserve hip, Zimmer Durom cup, Smith and Nephew R3, Stryker Rejuvenate, Stryker LFIT V40 and Biomet M2A-Magnum hip.
Unfortunately, when metal-on-metal hip implant components grind against each other, the units can release metal debris particles into the bloodstream and locally into the hip joint, causing metal poisoning.
Metal Poisoning and Local Soft Tissue reactions
According to many lawsuits, thousands of patients have developed metallosis and pseudotumor formation from the release of cobalt and chromium metal debris into the hip joint and the bloodstream. Both metals are used in the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant.
Female Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Implants at high risk for failure
Female patients are especially at risk of premature hip implant failure and metallosis. The Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant has a 26 percent failure rate in women after ten years. Smith & Nephew the manufacturer of the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant failed to warn about this unacceptable risk of premature failure.
The hip implant manufacturer industry benchmark failure rate for a hip implant device is no more than 5 percent at ten years.
Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant (BHR) Recall
After many reports of unacceptable Smith & Nephew Birmingham hip failure rate within a few years of implantation, Smith & Nephew recalled the BHR System from the U.S. market in September 2015.
According to lawsuits, Smith & Nephew was aware of the overwhelming evidence that the BHR systems were wearing down quicker and more severely than anticipated. Despite this knowledge, Smith & Nephew failed to take corrective action to address the failure problems and did not report to the FDA promptly.
Smith & Nephew R3 hip lawsuit settlement
Smith & Nephew initiated a worldwide recall of the metal liner in its R3 Acetabular System in 2012, after reports of loosening, pain, device failure, infection, metallosis, and dislocation. Almost 4,000 of the metal liners were used in the United States between 2009 and the recall. Smith & Nephew has quietly settled most of these lawsuit claims.
Birmingham Hip Implant Resurfacing Lawsuit Multidistrict Litigation
In May, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) agreed that all product liability and personal injury lawsuits over Birmingham Hip Implant Resurfacing be centralized and consolidated before U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake in the District of Maryland for pretrial discovery and bellwether trials.
According to the latest court data as of October 16, there are 126 lawsuits filed against Smith & Nephew over the failure of the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant.
If you think you may have Smith & Nephew Birmingham Resurfacing metal hip device and are experiencing pain caused by metal corrosion or have suffered premature hip failure requiring full revision and emergency care, please call Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm based in Dallas, Texas at 214-390-3189.