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After months of mediation, Stryker Corporation has agreed to settle more than 4000 lawsuits over its defective Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implants. The suits had been consolidated in New Jersey state court and a Minneapolis Federal court. Under the terms of the agreement Stryker will pay more than $1 billion to settle those claims. A base amount of $300,000 per case will be paid to patients who have been required to have the devices surgically removed after experiencing pain, tissue damage, swelling and metal debris from the devices. The settlement provides additional payments to patients who suffered additional complications such as additional surgeries or neurological damage.

 

This is the first major settlement in the cascade of lawsuits involving makers of metal-on-metal hip implants that did not go to trial. Stryker was scheduled to begin bellwether cases over the Rejuvenate and ABG II but chose to settle before litigation got underway. According to Bloomberg News, the company might have been afraid of facing even bigger liability if they didn’t settle now.

 

The Settlement terms specify that patients qualify for an award if they have had their hip implant removed prior to November 3, 2014. But it is important to stress that this settlement does not end litigation, especially for those patients who had the device implanted and have not yet had the surgery to replace it.

 

Some doctors have predicted the failure rate for the Rejuvenate and ABGII hip replacement systems might go as high as 70 percent. Worldwide more than 30,000 of the Stryker hip systems were installed with 20,000 of them in U.S. patients. Even after this settlement I am sure that the continued failure of the Rejuvenate and ABG II will lead to thousands more painful revisions and the number of claims against Stryker will continue to grow.

The ABG II and Rejuvenate hip components were recalled by Stryker in 2012 after they admitted that the artificial hips were subject to fret, corrode, loosen and ultimately fail, resulting in revision surgery to remove the defective hip implant. Both the Stryker ABG II and Rejuvenate hips contained modular stems, with two pieces that fit inside each other to allow the surgeon to customize the length based on the patient. The metal components were found to be vulnerable to fretting and corrosion causing the components to grind against each other and release metallic debris inside the body. Patients who experience this phenomenon may develop pain, swelling, and adverse local tissue reactions due to the metal ions shed from the devices.

It is imperative that recipients of Rejuvenate or ABG II stems undergo medical screening – regardless of symptoms; to ensure their hip components are working properly. If you have one of these Stryker implants and begin to experience pain, swelling or tissue damage it might be an indication the joint is failing and you should get the necessary medical and legal advice to determine your course of action.

 

The Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II are only two of the dangerous metal-on-metal hip implants in what has become the largest medical device failure in history. Others include the DePuy ASR and Pinnacle, the Zimmer Durom Cup, the Smith & Nephew R3, Biomet Magnum, Encore, Wright Profemur, Converse, Dynasty, and Lineage implants.

 

At Saunders & Walker we continue to accept and file hip implant lawsuits nationwide against many of these manufacturers. We provide free evaluations of any hip implant case.

 

Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Implant Lawsuits

One Comment

  1. Gravatar for Stephanie Andre
    Stephanie Andre

    Testing.

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