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April was an eventful month for Stryker Orthopaedics, between the rising number of Stryker hip replacement lawsuits filed over its now-recalled Rejuvenate/ABG II modular-neck hip stems and sinking profits seen by the company in its first quarter. As of April 22nd, 2013, court records indicated there were 145 claims over the devices pending in New Jersey Superior Court in Bergen County. A month earlier, on March 21st, there were 81. (In re Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Stem and the ABG II Modular Hip Stem Litigation, No. 296) Court documents from February 2013 revealed that 30 Stryker hip replacement lawsuits involving the Stryker hip recalled on July 6, 2012 were pending in 17 jurisdictions in the U.S. as well. To handle the growing number of cases, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) is currently evaluating whether to coordinate pretrial proceedings for Stryker hip lawsuits in a multidistrict litigation, to be overseen by a single judge. So far, there has not been a Stryker hip replacement lawsuit settlement. Pain and swelling, loosening of the implant, metallosis, immobility, inflammation of the surrounding tissue and other side effects have been named in Stryker hip replacement lawsuits. This litigation of hip replacement lawsuits has followed the Stryker hip recall of July 2012, which affected approximately 20,000 Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck hip stems, and was prompted by company data that revealed the potential for the devices to fret and corrode, causing a host of adverse tissue reactions and possibly metallosis (metal ion poisoning). Many patients have alleged pseudotumors, pain, swelling and other injuries stemming from this complication, which occurs when metallic debris from the hip components sheds into a patient’s blood stream. In other news, a Yahoo.com report from April 25th, 2013 said that Stryker’s profits dropped 13 percent in its first-quarter. Owing to Stryker hip recall costs, the company’s net income totaled $304 million at 79 cents per share. If the Stryker hip recall’s $40 million price tag was not a factor, Yahoo.com said the manufacturer would have earned $1.03 per share. Revenue from Stryker’s reconstructive device business rose 1.2 percent, the company reported, while sales from surgical products were flat. Neurotechnology and spine device revenue increased 4 percent. Despite these recent shortfalls, the manufacturer remains optimistic about its full-year earnings for 2013. Officials expect those numbers to range from $4.25 to $4.40 per share, while analysts predict that number to equal $4.33 per share.
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