Stryker Hip Implant Lawsuits – High Failure Rates

The Stryker hip lawsuit claims the LFIT Anatomic V40 femoral head utilized in the Stryker Accolade, and also the Rejuvenate and ABG II hip modules, are failing at a high rate.

The LFIT Anatomic femoral heads manufactured before 2012 have been recalled as a result of a defect that can result in immense pain, mobility issues, broken bones, cobalt poisoning, chromium toxicity, metallosis, and complete hip revision surgery.

The Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular hip systems were recalled several years ago because the devices were corroding within the bodies of patients. The corrosion occurs at the modular-neck joint, and can cause muscle and bone loss. A global settlement has been reached in regard to these specific devices.

We are no longer accepting Stryker Hip Implant cases.

What Do We Know About the Stryker Hip Lawsuits

Lawyers argue the following:

  1. The hip replacements were defective at the time they were manufactured, as the femoral heads could corrode and fail to fully lock at the stem-head taper junction, a problem referred to a “taper lock failure.”
  2. Stryker was negligent in the design of the hip replacements.
  3. The company failed to properly test the devices, and failed to quickly warn doctors and patients of the failures and the toxicity issues.

The LFIT V40 is manufactured to replace the upper portion of a patient’s femur, specifically the ball-like protrusion that fits into the acetabular cup (the hip socket).

The key problem is that the Stryker LFIT V40 has been failing at higher than expected rates, with the medical device separating from the patient’s femoral stem, apparently as a result of metal corrosion and taper lock failure. Unfortunately, dislocation or breakage of the device can happen suddenly with relatively little, obvious warnings.

Which Stryker Hip Implants are Subject to a Recall

The Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II hip systems manufactured before 2012 have been recalled.

The following Stryker LFIT Anatomic V40 femoral heads (often found in the Accolade) have also been recalled:

Catalog NumberHead DiameterDates
6260-9-23636mm2002-2010
6260-9-24040mm2006-2011
6260-9-24444mm2006-2011
6260-9-34040mm2006-2011
6260-9-440340mm2006-2011
6260-9-34444mm2007-2011
6260-9-44444mm2006-2011

If you have one of the above implants, you should talk with your orthopedic surgeon to determine whether a revision surgery or a cobalt and chromium blood test is needed to check for possible poisoning or toxicity.

You also should tell your doctor if your are having pain; inflammation; instability; or loss of range of motion. This can be a sign that your implant is failing or has fractured or dislocated.

Friction can cause the hip replacement to corrode and result in metal ions being released in the joint space. Toxic substances from the device can cause bone tissue to die, and make implants more likely to fracture or become completely dislocated. The metal ions also can cause inflammation, pain, and swelling.

Cobalt and chromium ions from the implants can poison the patient and result in injuries such as loss of sight and hearing, cardiovascular disorders and thyroid dysfunction.

Patients with metal sensitivity may suffer severe allergic reactions.

Stryker Hip Lawsuit News

Stryker Hip LFIT Femoral Head Litigation Consolidated in Boston:

“In addition to the specific causes of the failure of each plaintiff’s device, the cases now before us implicate numerous common issues concerning the development, manufacture, testing, regulatory history, promotion, and labeling of the LFIT V40 cobalt-chromium femoral head.” To read more, click Judicial Panel Multi-District Litigation

Stryker Orthopaedics to compensate additional eligible U.S. patients who had surgery to replace their Rejuvenate Modular-Neck and/or ABG II Modular-Neck Hip Stems:

The Settlement Program is available to eligible United States patients who had revision surgery for reasons related to the voluntary recall of the modular-neck hip stems prior to December 19, 2016. To read more, click Yahoo Sports

Stryker to Pay More Than $1 Billion for Recalled Devices:

Stryker Corp. agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve lawsuits over thousands of hip implants recalled in 2012 after patients complained of pain, swelling and metal debris from the devices. Stryker will pay a base amount of $300,000 per case to patients who had the devices surgically removed, Kim Catullo, one of the company’s lawyers, told a New Jersey judge yesterday. The device maker faces more than 4,000 suits consolidated in New Jersey state court and federal court in Minnesota. To read more, click Bloomberg

Stryker Hip Implant Recalls

In September 2016, Stryker voluntarily recalled the LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral head, utilized in the Accolade implants. In July 2012, Stryker voluntarily recalled the Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular Hip System Implants.

Stryker Settlements

There has been a global settlement involving the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular Hip Systems. In 2014, Stryker agreed to a global settlement program (estimated at $1.4 billion) for those who had a recalled Rejuvenate or ABG II implant and who had revision surgery prior to November 3, 2014. The minimum award of $300,000 to most victims is said to be the largest ever in failed hip replacement litigation and comes with few reductions. Qualified victims are also entitled to potential future compensation, even if their case is settled. This global settlement does not prevent individuals with recalled Stryker hip implants from pursuing their own litigation if they do not wish to settle or if they have not yet had a revision surgery.

In regard to the Stryker LFIT V40, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued an order in April 2017 consolidating all Stryker LFIT V40 cases filed in federal court before one judge in Massachusettes in order to conduct the complex national discovery in a coordinated manner. This generally is the first step before global settlements will be determined.

FDA and Scientific Studies Regarding Stryker Hip Replacement Implants

Urgent Medical Device Product Field Action Notification LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads

Stryker has initiated a voluntary medical device recall for various hip implant femoral heads. To read the recall, click Stryker

Health Canada Issues Recall of LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads

Stryker has received higher than expected complaints of taper lock failure for specific lots of certain sizes of LFIT Anatomic COCR V40TM Femoral Heads manufactured prior to 2011. To read the warning, click Health Cananda

LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral heads: Hazard alert – risk of adverse events due to potential taper lock failure

It has been identified that some LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral heads manufactured before 2011 have a higher than expected incidence of taper lock failures. To read the recall, click Australian Department of Health

Catastrophic Femoral Head-Stem Trunnion Dissociation Secondary to Corrosion

We describe 5 cases, from our institution, in which the femoral head became dissociated from the femoral stem trunnion secondary to severe corrosion. To read the study, click Journal of Bone & Surgery