Knee Implant Lawsuit
Problem summary
Knee replacement is a fairly common procedure – roughly 600,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed every year in the United States – but what many people with artificial knee implants are now realizing, perhaps too late, is that many of these devices are associated with unusually high failure rates, which can lead to debilitating complications possibly requiring revision surgery. In the majority of adverse event reports involving knee implants, the device loosens due to cement failure or sustains excessive wear resulting in premature failure, pain, instability and other side effects.
Over the past ten years, the number of patients receiving an artificial knee implant has doubled, and many younger people undergoing knee replacement are finding that these devices were never meant to be used in patients with years of active mobility ahead of them. Due to alleged defects in the design of these implants, artificial knees may fragment unexpectedly or sustain rapid wear, causing recipients to suffer chronic pain, a loss of mobility and other complications that may leave them in worse shape than they were before the procedure.
About Knee Implants & Knee Replacement Surgery
Modern knee implants are meant to last 15 to 20 years, and while the recovery process post-knee replacement can be long and difficult, the ability to return to an active lifestyle without suffering chronic pain is worth it for many patients. However, as the number of Americans undergoing knee replacement surgery has increased, so too has the rate of adverse events reported in connection with failing artificial knee implants. Some of the most widely-used knee replacement systems implanted in the United States include the DePuy Attune knee implant, the B. Braun Aesculap Knee Replacement, the Exactech Optetrack Knee and the Arthrex iBalance Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), and research has shown that many of these implants may put patients at risk for serious or even life-threatening injury.
In one 2012 study examining the outcomes of 106 patients 25 months after receiving Exactech Optetrak implants, researchers found that 15% of the study participants were disappointed or dissatisfied with the implant, 22% experienced chronic pain, 22% had begun to suffer from tibial implant loosening, 21% showed signs of patellofemoral conflict, and 13 participants required revision surgery for tibial loosening, patellofemoral pain or patellofemoral instability. Some believe the potential for these knee implants to fail prematurely may be due to the fact that they weren’t adequately tested before coming to market. Many of the knee implants currently on the market in the U.S. were approved via the FDA’s 510(k) premarket approval program, which allows medical device makers to fast-track their products with limited testing, so long as there is a similar product already on the market. Unfortunately, many knee replacement systems approved through this process are now failing at an alarmingly high rate.
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Knee Implant Complications & Injuries
- Implant loosening
- Fractures
- Bone loss
- Dislocation
- Chronic pain
- Loss of mobility
- Nerve injuries
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Instability
- Joint infection
- Implant failure
- Inflammation
- Knee swelling
- Issues with walking or standing
- Popping or clicking sounds
- Need for revision surgery
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Settlements & Litigation News/Updates
In response to mounting evidence regarding the potential for knee replacement systems to fail prematurely and cause serious injuries, thousands of patients with artificial knees have filed product liability lawsuits against the device manufacturers, alleging that design defects caused the knee replacement systems to fail at a higher than expected rate. These lawsuits accuse the device manufacturing companies of designing and manufacturing defective medical products, misleadingly marketing the devices as safe and effective, and failing to warn patients about the risk of implant failure and other complications. And some knee implant manufacturers are settling these product liability claims outside of court. One of the largest knee replacement settlements came in 2002, when Sulzer Medica (now part of Zimmer Biomet) agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve 4,000 lawsuits filed over the company’s hip and knee implants. More recently, in February 2018, Zimmer Biomet agreed to settle all remaining NexGen knee implant lawsuits, but the exact amount of the settlement agreement remains unknown.
Not only has the quality of these manufacturers’ knee implants been called into question, so too has their marketing practices. In August 2007, four of the country’s biggest makers of artificial knees and hips – Biomet, Zimmer Holdings, DePuy Orthopaedics and Smith & Nephew – agreed to pay a total of $310 million to settle federal kickback claims alleging that they used fake consulting agreements and other deceptive tactics to convince surgeons to use their products. According to the government, the four companies, with Stryker Orthopedics, which accepted federal supervision for 18 months as part of the settlement, make up 95% of the entire hip and knee implant market.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries allegedly caused by a defective knee implant, contact a knowledgeable product liability lawsuit today to discuss your legal options.
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