If you have a failed Zimmer Kinectiv hip implant, a lawsuit against Zimmer Biomet, Inc. (formerly Zimmer, Inc.) can seek money for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and other damages to you and your family. Patients trust medical device companies to sell safe products. When this does not happen, patients should get compensation, thereby holding the companies accountable.
Cases are being filed now for the following Zimmer hip replacement products:
- Zimmer M/L Taper Hip Prosthesis (usually referred to as “M/L Taper”)
- Zimmer M/L Taper Hip Prosthesis with Kinectiv Technology (usually referred to as “Kinectiv”)
- Zimmer M/L Taper Hip Prosthesis when paired with the Versys Hip System Femoral Head
Contact Our Lawyers about a Lawsuit against Zimmer
Attorney David Szerlag has extensive experience in the area of lawsuits. He has helped clients recover multimillion-dollar settlements, and he recently won a $7.5 million verdict for a young child who was severely injured by a defective product. David and his team have also won millions for people injured by hip implants and have been involved in the metal-on-metal hip lawsuits for several years.
“Metal particles called ions from a metal-on-metal hip implant may cause an adverse reaction around the hip joint. This can lead to deterioration of the tissue around the joint, loosening of the implant and failure of the device. We have had clients who have needed revision surgery to remove and replace the metal-on-metal device.”Attorney David Szerlag
Metal ions from a metal-on-metal implant will enter the bloodstream. There are case reports in which patients with metal-on-metal hip implants may have developed an adverse reaction to these metal ions and experienced medical problems that could have been related to their implants. These problems included:
- General hypersensitivity reaction (skin rash)
- Cardiomyopathy
- Neurological changes including sensory changes (auditory, or visual impairments)
- Psychological status change (including depression or cognitive impairment)
- Renal function impairment
- Thyroid dysfunction (including neck discomfort, fatigue, weight gain or feeling cold)
The Zimmer M/L Taper Prosthesis with Kinectiv Technology is modular-neck and stem hip implant. It has a metal-on-metal design, which, according to the FDA and our investigation, can cause severe injuries.
Problems include severe pain, bone fractures, dislocation of the hip. In many cases, the patient needs to have revision surgery. Below is an excerpt from one FDA MAUDE Adverse Event Report on a patient who needed revision surgery:
“It was reported that patient underwent a revision procedure five years post-implantation due to implant corrosion and adverse local tissue reaction with a pseudotumor and trunionnosis. Operative notes report the patient had corrosion between the neck and the head. A large amount of blackened tissue surrounding the taper junction on the trunnion was identified. Furthermore, corrosion products were identified within the taper junction of the femoral head itself. “
The FDA has received many more reports like the one above. The problem is that the metals rub together, creating tiny abrasions and releasing chromium and cobalt into the body. This can cause metalosis, which is the poisoning of the body due to high levels of metals.
According to a document filed with the FDA, the Zimmer M/L Taper Hip Prosthesis with Kinectiv Technology System is “a modular, wedge-shaped stem that is coated with TI-6A1-4V titanium alloy plasma spray. Its intended use is for severe hip pain and disability due to rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, traumatic arthritis, polyarthritis, collagen disorders, avascular necrosis of the femoral head, nonunion of previous fractures of the femur, congenital hip dysplasia, disability due to previous fusion, previously failed total hip replacement components. In this same document, filed in 2008, Zimmer, Inc. claimed the this product was “safe and effective”.
Our law firm supports centralizing all Zimmer Kinectiv lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide. This would consolidate the pretrial proceedings in an effort to better serve the patients who were injured by this product. One of the lawsuits, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled to go to trial at the end of this month.