JPML to Consider Centralization of Lawsuits Involving Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Heads, Farxiga, Stöckert Sorin 3T Heater-Coolers

Published on February 14, 2017 by Sandy Liebhard

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) will convene its next Hearing Session on Thursday, March 30, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. At that time, the Panel will hear Oral Arguments on petitions to centralize lawsuits stemming from Stryker’s recent LFIT V40 femoral head recall, as well as cases involving the Type 2 diabetes drug Farxiga and the Stöckert 3T Heater-Cooler System.

Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head Litigation

A Hearing Session Order issued earlier today indicates that six Stryker hip lawsuits have been filed on behalf of individuals who experienced complications allegedly related to LFIT V40 CoCr femoral heads. Stryker warned in August that certain LFIT V40 femoral heads manufactured prior to 2011 had been linked to reports of taper lock failure, which could result in adverse local tissue reactions, fractures and other serious complications. Stryker’s action was eventually declared a Class II recall by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

In a petition filed with the JPML last month, plaintiffs pointed out that the LFIT V40 femoral heads have been used in at least six different modular hip replacement devices manufactured by Stryker, and asserted that the litigation stemming from the recall could eventually include hundreds of similar cases. They have suggested that the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, would be an appropriate venue for the proposed multidistrict litigation.

Farxiga Litigation

Today’s Order also  indicates that 18 Farxiga lawsuits are pending in six federal jurisdictions, all of which were filed on behalf of patients who developed ketoacidosis and other side effects allegedly related to treatment with the SGLT2 inhibitor. Last year, the JPML created a multidistrict litigation for similar Invokana lawsuits in New Jersey federal court. However, it declined to include claims involving other SGLT2 inhibitors. Plaintiffs pursuing federal Farxiga lawsuits are now seeking to have their cases centralized in the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, or Southern District of Illinois.

Stöckert 3T Heater-Cooler System

Plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits over bacterial infections allegedly caused by the Stöckert 3T Heater-Cooler System are seeking to have all such federal claims centralized in the U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina. The system, which is used to warm and cool patients undergoing open heart surgery, has been linked to potentially-deadly M. chimaera infections in hospitals throughout the country. At least 15 heater-cooler lawsuits have been filed in various federal courts against the manufacturers of the Stöckert 3T system.