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Failed Hip & Knee Replacement Settlements Can Also Fail Plaintiffs

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Livonia, MIEven though Stryker ponied up with a billion-dollar settlement agreement over its failed Rejuvenate Modular Hip System, an attorney conversant with the file and similar recalled implant and settlement issues from DePuy takes exception to the way in which settlements were handled, suggesting that numerous deserving patients would have been excluded from a potential windfall. Hip & Knee Replacement Implant Failure has been a common headline for some years, as new products have performed well below expectations.

Back in the fall of last year, Stryker was lauded for agreeing to a settlement deal - achieved through a mediation process - that shaved a great deal of time from the normal process of going through a trial. The time window between the recall of the Stryker Rejuvenate system and the settlement announcement was about 18 months. The settlement was hailed as a win for any patient having filed a Hip Replacement Lawsuit against Stryker.

However, a lawyer in Michigan is not so enthused, given the limits and requirements that he suggests came tethered to the settlement. Attorney Terry Cochran noted that Stryker informed doctors of the settlement, but not their patients - thus it would have been up to the doctors involved with the initial implant procedure to pass the news along. Beyond that, patients might have heard about the settlement in the media, but would have only been aware that it might have applied to them had they also been aware of the particular implant involved with their hip replacement.

The Stryker settlement also hinged on the need for revision surgery, and to have already had the procedure performed by the date of the settlement: November 3 of last year. Any pending revision procedures - even if they made it in prior to the December 14, 2014 deadline for making a claim - would not have qualified for compensation.

Cochran noted, in a release (11/26/14), that patients denied the opportunity for a revision procedure due to sound medical reasons would be considered for compensation. However, the announced $1.45 billion settlement fund has the potential to fail Hip Replacement Lawsuit patients who did not meet the stated criteria.

The Hip Replacement Lawyer from Michigan says that such limitations are simply wrong.

“It is bad enough these companies implanted faulty hips in the first place,” Cochran said, “but now they want to limit the payouts for their negligence by keeping it secret from patients and requiring revision surgery be done before paying damages.”

It has been reported that one out of 10 patients in the US implanted with the ASR Hip Implant by DePuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, had to have the hip surgery repeated because the implant failed.

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READER COMMENTS

Posted by

on
My grandmother had knee replacement in 2002, this year She was told that the parts where not the right size. Also it was missing some parts, my grandmother is 87 years old and had to have another total replacement. I would like to know if anything can be done about this.

Posted by

on
I had my left hip replaced on 12/28/12. The implant used a Stryker catalog number 2060-0000-1 ...lot number MLR2JM Shell Trident Cluster 52.. There is no serial number listed. STM Secur- Fit Max 127 and so 8...shell trident lot number 41731701..
I had already contacted a lawyer and was told my implant did not apply.. But a friend sent this too me. I have not had a revision of this to date , however the pain I have been having since day one is excruciating.. I am not able to walk independently and use two canes.. I have had three left total knees done already... The recent CTHULHU scans I had show bony. Fragments around the poly head of this new hip implant. I can explain to you how much pain I am continually.. I do not know if you can help me or not to recover the loss of living I have had.. I can not even afford to get a revision at this point having spent all our savings for medical care for all my surgeries, non of which have allowed me to walk again.. I recently was given a scooter by a friend who showed compassion on me and the need to be able to go about business.. You have no idea how many days I spend at home before this.. TY for hearing about my situation.

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