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On Feb. 28, 2013, it was announced by NorthJersey.com that 80 Stryker lawsuits brought on behalf of patients who experienced complications after being implanted with the Stryker Rejuvenate and/or ABG II hip implants had been filed in New Jersey Superior Court. An order issued by the New Jersey Supreme Court in January stated that these claims will be heard by Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Superior Court in Hackensack. For federally-filed claims, a plaintiff in a Stryker lawsuits filed a motion in February to coordinate pre-trial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. According to the request filed Feb. 19, 2013 with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), 10 of the 30 claims filed in federal court are pending there. Thus, a multidistrict litigation (MDL) at this location would be convenient for all parties, as well as aid in avoiding conflicting rulings by judges and duplicative discoveries. The patient who brought this Stryker lawsuit allegedly suffered side effects after receiving the Stryker Rejuvenate hip replacement. And he isn’t the only one. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received at least 45 adverse event reports from patients who said they experienced complications stemming from the devices between January 2012 and July 2012, when the Stryker Rejuvenate recall was announced. Side effects named in complaints filed with the FDA as well as Stryker lawsuits include loosening of the implant, pain and swelling and the local joint site, immobility, inflammation of the surrounding tissue and metallosis (metal ion poisoning). This condition results when the metal components of the Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck hip stems rub together, leading to fretting and corrosion. Metallic debris may then shed into a patient’s blood stream, causing injuries to the heart, nerves, thyroid and kidney. The mounting number of Stryker lawsuits alleging these side effects may cost Stryker Orthopaedics millions in damages, some industry analysts say. A Jan. 9 article from Reuters estimated that reimbursement costs for patients affected by the Stryker Rejuvenate hip recall may cost the company between $190 million and $390 million related to medical testing and treatment expenses. Insurance payments, lawsuits and revision surgeries may also cause the company to pay more as well, Reuters reported. Stryker’s income may have also taken a nose dive in recent months. On Jan. 23, MSNBC.com reported on a 33 percent drop in Stryker Orthopaedics’ net income for its fourth quarter, and a $133 million charge incurred by the Stryker hip recall. However, the company remained optimistic about its financial future. According to MNSBC.com, Stryker expects its price per share to balance out between $4.25 and $4.40 in 2013. In the coming months, the number of lawsuits stemming from the Stryker hip recall is likely to rise in federal and state courts in the U.S. Before the devices were recalled, approximately 20,000 Rejuvenate modular-neck hip stems were sold throughout the U.S. About : Bernstein Liebhard was formed in 1993 as a boutique litigation practice to represent plaintiffs in high-stakes, complex class action and individual litigation. Since that time, the firm has exclusively represented plaintiffs in various types of complex litigations, including securities class actions, shareholder derivative litigation, consumer protection class actions, mass tort litigation, private antitrust litigation, and qui tam/whistleblower litigation. Since inception, we have recovered over $3 billion on behalf of our clients and the classes we represent.
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Stryker Rejuvenate recall, Stryker lawsuits, Stryker Rejuvenate hip recall,
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