Attorneys familiar with the
Stryker ABGII and Rejuvenate hip implant recalls this past June are urging
recipients of the all-metal hip implant to act quickly even if they have yet to
experience adverse health effects from their implant. Stryker has already
increased the amount of money set aside to cover the costs of the Stryker
recall to between $190 and $390 million dollars. This money is meant to cover
revision surgeries required by implant recipients, blood tests, MRIs, X-rays
and the cost of insurance and impending lawsuits. While the all-metal hip
implants were meant to last considerably longer than their ceramic and
polyethylene predecessors, once thousands of people had been implanted with the
metal-on-metal hip implants adverse reports starting coming in.
The Problem with All-Metal Hip Implants
When the cobalt and chromiumimplant parts rub against one another while the patient is walking, running or
engaging in other normal day-to-day activities, the small metal ions shear
away, becoming lodged in surrounding tissues or entering the patient’s
bloodstream. Bone loss, tissue destruction and death and chronic pain are all
reactions to the inflammation which occurs when the metal shards burrow into
the hip tissues. When the cobalt and chromium enter the bloodstream, metal
poisoning or toxicity can occur. The higher the metal levels in the body, the
more likely the patient is to experience significant and negative health issues
including: cardiovascular, renal, thyroid and gastrointestinal disorders, hearing
and vision disturbances, anxiety, depression, memory loss, vertigo, skin
issues, pseudo-tumors and disruption of DNA.
Failure Rates of Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants
Depending on the manufacturer
and model of the all-metal hip implant, the failure rate can be as high as
40-60% in the first 4-5 years. Considering the magnitude of this failure rate,
all those with a Stryker ABGII or Rejuvenate—or any other all-metal hip
implant—would be well-advised to see their physician to have the necessary
tests which will determine cobalt and chromium levels in the body as well as to
consult with an attorney who is experienced in the all-metal implants. Even
those implant recipients who have yet to experience significant health problems
have a very good chance of developing those problems in the future. In order to
ensure that the statute of limitations has not passed, leaving them with no
help at all, implant recipients need to take action now.
Will Stryker Follow DePuy’s Lead?
It is likely that Stryker will
follow the lead of DePuy and Johnson & Johnson who are currently embroiled
in over 10,000 lawsuits over the recalled ASR hip implant. Over six-thousand
lawsuits will be resolved in Federal Court under an MDL while the remainder
will have their cases tried in state courts across the United States. Currently
the first DePuy ASR is taking place in California and is in its fourth week.
DePuy and Johnson & Johnson are attempting to shift the blame from the hip
implant itself to the Plaintiff’s prior medical issues. Stryker will likely
follow suit once Rejuvenate and ABGII lawsuits make it to a courtroom.
The Broadspire Connection
Stryker recently brought
Broadspire—a third-party risk-management company—into the mix just as DePuy did
following their ASR recall and subsequent lawsuits. Broadspire attempted to
manage the DePuy lawsuits by sending out what is known as the “Broadspire
letter,” which allowed Broadspire access to the medical records of those
patients who signed the letter. Most lawyers believe this was a calculated move
on Broadspire’s part. The theory put forth by many plaintiffs’ attorneys was
that once they had access to victims’ medical records DePuy and Johnson &
Johnson could use a patient’s prior medical history to shift the focus from the
harm done by the metal hip implant.
Loren Kransky, the plaintiff in this first DePuy
trial had cobalt levels nearly eight times the amount considered safe in his
body prior to his revision surgery, yet it is almost a given that DePuy,
Johnson & Johnson, and Stryker will do everything in their power to keep
their financial exposure to a minimum.
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