$2.4 Million Settlement Could Resolve Nearly 1,300 Wright Hip Implant Claims

An agreement has been reached that could result in the settlement of nearly 1,300 hip replacement lawsuits involving Wright Medical Inc.’s  metal-on-metal Conserve, Lineage, or Dynasty hip implants. According to court documents, plaintiffs in 1,292 cases would be eligible to participate in the settlement, including those who have claims pending in a multidistrict litigation now underway in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, as well as those included in mass tort proceeding established in California Superior Court in Los Angeles. (In re: Wright Medical Technology, Inc., Conserve Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2329)
 
All of the cases eligible for the settlement were filed on behalf of plaintiffs who allegedly suffered hip implant failure and other complications allegedly due to the devices’ metal-on-metal design, which they assert can shed dangerous amounts of toxic metal ions into the tissue surrounding the joint, as well as the blood stream. To be eligible to participate in the Wright hip settlement, plaintiffs must have undergone revision surgery within eight years of their initial hip replacement, and their lawsuit must have been filed within the statute of limitations.  At least 95% of eligible plaintiffs must agree to the settlement terms in order for the agreement to take effect.
 
“Our Firm is representing a number of Wright hip plaintiffs. We are in the process of evaluating the terms of this settlement in order to best advise our clients on how to proceed,” said Sandy A. Liebhard, a partner at Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm continues to offer free case reviews to those who have been harmed due to allegedly defective hip implants.
 
Stryker Hip Lawsuit Investigation
The announcement of the Wright hip settlement comes as Bernstein Liebhard LLP investigates additional legal claims involving LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads manufactured by Stryker Orthopaedics. Stryker issued an “Urgent Medical Device Product Field Action Notification” for certain lots of these components manufactured prior to 2011, following an unusual number of reports involving taper lock failure. Failure of the taper lock, which connects the femoral head to the femoral neck, can result in serious complications, including failure of the artificial hip and need for revision surgery.
 
Stryker’s notification has already prompted regulators in Australia to issue a Hazard Alert for these components, while Health Canada recently announced a Stryker hip recall for the affected LFIT V40 Femoral Heads.
 
The attorneys at Bernstein Liebhard LLP have already assisted numerous individuals affected by the 2012 Stryker hip recall for Rejuvenate and ABG II hip stems. In November 2014, the company agreed to pay at least $1.43 billion to settle thousands of claims involving those devices. (In Re Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular Hip Implant Litigation, 296 BER-L-936-13, Bergen County Superior Court)
 
Bernstein Liebhard LLP continues to offer free, no-obligation case reviews to individuals who allegedly suffered complications related to hip implants manufactured by Wright Medical Inc., Stryker Orthopaedics, and others. To learn more, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website, or call 800-511-5092 to arrange for a free, no obligation case review.