Shoulder Pain Pump: One lawsuit Down, But Not All Out

Miami, FLA shoulder pain pump lawsuit against Breg Inc. alleging irreversible shoulder injury was dismissed after an expert witness could not conclusively prove that a shoulder pain pump caused the postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL) suffered by the plaintiff following shoulder surgery.

However, due to the fact a consolidation of all cases was denied by the US Judicial District Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, other lawsuits currently in the pipeline can go ahead unfettered by the outcome of one particular trial.

The action against Breg Inc., a manufacturer of shoulder pain pumps, was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida before it even began after a key expert witness was excluded. Douglas Kilpatrick—the plaintiff—alleged that his PAGCL was caused by the intra-articular use of the shoulder pain pump on his injured shoulder.

Kilpatrick, who owns a charter fishing company in Florida, alleged that Breg knew or should have known that their product, together with the anesthetics it administered directly into the joint space, could cause chondrolysis but failed to warn consumers and the medical community.

Various studies have found a link between the intra-articular use of shoulder pain pumps and the loss of cartilage in the shoulder joint—a condition that is irreversible and can lead to pain, loss of mobility and for some the expense of shoulder replacement surgery.

However, as reported in the July 7th issue of AboutLawsuits.com, the online legal newsletter, US District Judge K. Michael Moore of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the pain pump manufacturer's Motion for Summary Judgment June 25th after finding that the plaintiff could not prove the shoulder pain pump defect proximately caused the injury.

A host of individual lawsuits against other manufacturers are not affected by this ruling, given that all shoulder pain pump lawsuits are proceeding as individual claims. According to the July 13th issue of Devices and Diagnostics Letter, five individual lawsuits are pending against Stryker.

The five actions were filed July 2nd in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and all allege similar injuries. As an example, Glen Gore and Angela Gore v. Stryker Corporation et al claims that after undergoing shoulder surgery in December 2002 Glen Gore of Evansville, Indiana was implanted with a Stryker shoulder pain pump and developed arthritis and chondrolysis, leading to irreversible shoulder injury. Stryker would not comment given the ongoing nature of the legal matter at hand.