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The Federal Judge assigned to overseeing the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip recall lawsuits issued an order last week expanding the pool of cases to be set for early jury trials. These hip implant devices were recalled in 2012 and had been on the market since 2009. The judge’s order is a good sign that these cases will more forward relatively quickly.

The Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG implants are not metal on metal hips like some of the other hip implants that have been recalled over the last few years but the injury to patients is similar. Both types of implants leach metal into the hip tissues causing inflammation, pain, and failure of the implant. This condition is called metallosis and is caused by cobalt and chromium that leaches from the hip implants.

The Stryker implants leach metal ffrom a poorly fitting joint in the stem of the implant. The metal on metal implants that were recalled, such as the DePuy ASR and Smith & Nephew R3, leach metal from the interface between the metal cup and the metal ball on the femur. The surgery to replace the defective Stryker implants is more invasive and more serious than the surgeries required to replace or revise the metal on metal hips. A Stryker revision surgery involves the surgeon removing the stem from the patient’s femur in addition to removing the cup and the ball. The removal of the stem of the implant from the femur frequently requires splitting or fracturing the femur to get the stem out. Cables are then necessary around the femur to allow it to heal. This results in a longer recovery period and more residual disability to the patient.

Rejuvenate and AGB Lawsuit Settlements

A small number of lawsuits have already been settled by Stryker. These settlements are confidential so the amounts cannot be disclosed publicly. It is estimated that about 100 of the roughly 4,000 pending lawsuits have been settled. Most of the cases that have gone to settlement conferences or mediation have been settled so it is evident that Stryker is offering enough money that most people agree to settle their cases. These Stryker lawsuits are not class actions so each person will be able to make his or her own decision about settlement or trial.

Rejuvenate and ABG Trials

So far there have been no jury trials in the Stryker cases. The federal judge in Minneapolis who has been assigned to these cases will be setting the first federal jury trials to start next summer. Trials are also expected to be set soon in New Jersey state court where a number of state court lawsuits are pending. There are a large number of cases pending in New Jersey because that is where Stryker is headquartered. Injured people for any other state can file a lawsuit against Stryker in New Jersey.

I have filed a number of Stryker lawsuits both in the federal courts and in New Jersey and expect to file many more as patients continue to experience failures of these hip implants. I am happy to provide free case evaluations on any type of hip implant.

 

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