Smith & Nephew hip lawsuit settlement

Smith & Nephew hip lawsuit settlement. Over the past ten years, metal on metal (MOM) hip implants have been criticized over their increased risk of premature failure and another serious complication known as metallosis.

Metal hip replacement devices are expected to last 10 years or more. Now it is discovered that some newer-generation hip replacement devices have a higher failure rate because of the metal-on-metal components.

Thousands of product liability lawsuits have been brought over other metal-on-metal hip implants sold in the United States, including the DePuy ASR Hip, DePuy Pinnacle hip, Wright Conserve hip and Biomet M2A-Magnum hip.

Unfortunately, when metal-on-metal hip implant units move together, the parts can release metal debris particles into the bloodstream and locally into the hip joint, causing a form of metal poisoning called “metallosis”.

Recently a lawsuit was filed against Smith & Nephew claiming that the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) system failed prematurely, lead to metal poisoning and caused serious local tissue reactions.

Lydia Constantini filed her claim, alleging that Smith & Nephew sold a defective metal-on-metal hip implant and then tried to hide the increased risk of major complications from patients and doctors.

According to Constantini, she underwent hip resurfacing surgery with the Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant in 2008. Constantini underwent hip revision surgery in 2013 after the Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant failed.

Constantini developed metallosis and pseudotumor formation from the release of cobalt and chromium metal debris into the hip joint and the blood stream. Both metals are used in the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant.

Female Hip Implants at high risk for failure

Female patients are especially at risk of premature hip implant failure and metallosis. The BHR has a 26 percent failure rate in women after ten years, but Smith & Nephew failed to warn about this unacceptable risk of premature failure to the doctors and to patients. The hip implant manufacturer industry benchmark failure rate for a hip implant device is no more than 5 percent at ten years.

Smith & Nephew 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.

The Smith & Nephew Birmingham hip was one of the first metal-on-metal hip replacement devices, and many experts were alarmed about its safety even before it was approved by the FDA.

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 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.

Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing 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 Resurfacing be centralized and consolidated before U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake in the District of Maryland for pretrial discovery and bellwether trials.

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 at 214-390-3189.