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Smith and Nephew metal-on-metal hip implants are currently affecting thousands of patients suffering from severe side effects across the United States. These devices are failing at a rate much higher than expected, posing serious health problems.
Smith and Nephew continued to market these products in disregard to reports that showed metal-on-metal hip implants failing at a higher rate than metal on polyethylene hip implants and causing excessive cobalt and chromium ions being released into the body.
Due to the defective R3 Acetabular and Birmingham (BHR) total hip replacement implants, Smith and Nephew Orthopaedics is facing a growing number of hip replacement lawsuits and mass tort actions. Injured patients are reporting premature loosening, immobility, and implant failure along with many other painful symptoms, such as:
If you have suffered pain or injury because of your defective Smith and Nephew hip implant, you may be entitled to compensation through a Smith and Nephew hip implant lawsuit. Ask your surgeon which specific hip implant system you received during your surgery.
If it is the R3 Acetabular model that used R3 metal liners, then it has been recalled and you should consult with us about filing a Smith and Nephew hip implant lawsuit to recover the compensation you deserve. If you are not aware of which hip implant you have received, we’d be glad to assist you in finding out.
Due to their negligence, Smith and Nephew has been subject to hip implant lawsuits and mass tort actions. If you have received an R3 Acetabular System replacement hip or Birmingham (BHR) total hip replacement prosthesis manufactured by this company, you might have a case against the manufacturer. Damages in the form of monetary compensation could include coverage of your actual medical costs (to include future medical costs), loss of earnings, and pain and suffering.
Even if you do not know what type of implant you have received, our team would be happy to assist you in obtaining this information. It is essential that you call us today if you know that you have received a hip implant that has been recalled, even if you are not currently experiencing pain or physical symptoms.
Thousands of patients were implanted with Smith and Nephew metal-on-metal total hip replacements, and our attorneys have spoken with quite a few that have been injured by these hip replacements—specifically, clients that were implanted with the recalled Smith and Nephew R3 metal-on-metal hip prosthesis or BHR prosthesis during a total hip replacement procedure.
Smith and Nephew announced that unlike other metal-on-metal hip implants, the patients implanted with the R3 metal liner were not typically experiencing issues with cobalt and chromium ions being released from the implant and causing metallosis reactions. However, our review of clients’ medical records who have had revisions to remove the R3 metal liner, or who have had revisions to remove the BHR cup-and-ball, has shown that these clients have had a variety of problems with the cobalt and chromium ions.
Smith and Nephew voluntarily withdrew the optional metal liner component of its R3 Aceabular System hip replacement implant due to the company’s analysis of clinical studies which showed “a higher than normal level of patient problems” were occurring with the device, meaning it wasn’t doing what it was designed to do. Clinical trials of the metal-cup component showed that 1.6 percent required revision surgery each year, the guideline in the U.K. where the company is based, was 1 percent.
Smith and Nephew’s R3 Acetabular System contains a metal liner component that was recalled by the FDA in June of 2012 due to its association with implant dislocation, infection and bone fracture that was causing patients to suffer and often requiring revision surgery. The recall followed the company’s analysis of clinical trials showing a “higher than normal level of patient problems with the device.” Smith and Nephew introduced the hip replacement liner in 2009, and since that time about 7,700 patients have had them implanted.
This modular metal-on-metal hip replacement system contains both metal cup and head components that were originally designed to last longer than their ceramic and plastic counterparts. Experts now believe there are additional health risks, including chromium and cobalt poisoning caused by loose metal fragments shed by the device.
Another problematic Smith and Nephew product is the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) System, which has also seen a high rate of complications in both resurfacing and total hip replacement patients. This metal-on-metal device was the first of its kind approved in the United States. Many other manufacturers have mimicked its design and have recently been linked to high rates of complications, failures and recalls.
In September 2012, Smith & Nephew issued an “Urgent Field Safety Notice” for the Birmingham Modular Head hip implant. They stated: “The average revision rate for the Birmingham hip with all stems is currently 1.29 revisions per 100 observed component years.”
Our law firm is taking on cases where the system was used in total hip replacement procedures. Contact our team today to discuss your potential claim and start the process to be compensated for your needless pain and suffering. We would be glad to help you understand your legal rights today.
In order to succeed in a case like this one, your attorneys will have to prove three elements: (1) the manufacturer performed a negligent act; (2) the act was a legal cause of injury or death; and (3) the extent of the damages caused.
In regard to the first element, negligence is the failure of the manufacturer to use due care, which is the care that a reasonably careful manufacturer would use under the same circumstances. The second element, legal cause (also known as proximate cause), occurs when the negligent act produces or contributes substantially to producing the injury or death. The third element is damages. Your lawyers will need to prove the extent of the harm you suffered by the negligence. In a personal injury case, this includes physical pain and suffering; mental pain and suffering; medical expenses; and wage loss. In a wrongful death claim, it includes medical and funeral expenses; mental pain and suffering; loss of support; and loss of future estate.
Products liability cases, like this one, are extremely complex lawsuits that are often vigorously defended by the manufacturer, who frequently hires the services of some of the largest defense law firms in the world. Generally, tens of thousands of hours of time and millions of dollars are spent by each side before the national litigation is resolved through settlement or jury trials. However, we can reasonably estimate the process will take 3 – 5 years, depending upon when you hire your lawyer in relation to when the litigation began. Relatively little effort will be required of you during the multi-year wait unless your case is chosen for trial. Otherwise, you simply will be completing questionnaires and gathering personal documents for your attorneys on an as needed basis.
Our law firm provides absolutely free confidential consultation in this type of litigation, and if we are fortunate enough for you to hire us we never will charge you any fees or costs unless you first recover.
The fee we charge ranges from 20% to 40% depending upon the amount we recover for you and the specific applicable state law. This fee should be similar to, if not exactly the same, as to what other lawyers are charging. This is true whether your lawyer has never handled a prescription drug case or whether it has been the focus of their practice for more than 50 years, as with our law firm.
Our lawyers have been handling prescription drug and medical device cases since 1955. We have successfully handled these cases all over the country. Whether we will accept your specific case depends on the individual circumstances. However, we guarantee you that we will take your call, provide you an absolutely free consult, discuss the facts of your case, and honestly and straightforward tell you whether we can help you. If not, we will try to get you to someone who can. We also will tell you exactly what will be involved in pursuing your case and how long it may take to resolve the lawsuit.
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