Stryker Hip Lawsuits Moving Forward, As MDL Court Schedules Initial Conference for LFIT V40 Femoral Head Claims

Published on April 26, 2017 by Sandy Liebhard

The multidistrict litigation recently established for Stryker hip lawsuits involving recalled LFIT V40 Femoral Heads is about to get underway. According to an Order issued in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, on April 21^st, the proceeding’s Initial Status Conference will be convened on May 16, 2017 at 3:00 p.m.

“In advance of the initial status conference, counsel in each of the coordinated actions shall file a status report identifying any pending motions, including motions to remand or dismiss, and identifying the state or states whose laws may govern the action in whole or part,” the Order states.

Subjects to be addressed during the Initial Conference include:

• Plaintiffs’ Leadership Structure
• Potential objectives for the MDL proceeding
• Scheduling of monthly Status Conferences
• Any other matters counsel seek to have addressed

Counsel seeking to raise additional matters should file a notice setting forth such matters with the Court by the close of business on May 12, 2017.

Stryker Hip Recall

All federally-filed Stryker hip lawsuits involving LFIT 40 Femoral Heads were centralized in the District f Massachusetts earlier this month, in order to allow the docket to undergo coordinated discovery and other pretrial proceedings. Six Stryker hip replacement lawsuits were initially transferred to the District of Massachusetts. At least 27 potentially related actions, as well as any filed in the future, may also be eligible for transfer to the multidistrict litigation.

LFIT V40 Femoral Heads are used in conjunction with several Stryker hip implant components, including the Accolade TMZF, Accolade 2 Stems, Meridian Stems and Citation Stems. According to an “Urgent Medical Device Recall Notification” issued by Stryker last August, certain LFIT V40 Femoral Heads manufactured prior to 2011 had been associated with a “higher than expected number of complaints involving taper lock failure of the recalled femoral heads.”  Patients who experience taper lock failure may develop serious complications that necessitate revision surgery, including:

• Loss of mobility
• Pain
• Inflammation
• Adverse local tissue reaction
• Dislocation
• Joint instability
• Bone fractures around the components
• Leg length discrepancy

In November, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) designated Stryker’s action a Class II recall, its second most serious recall classification. Class II status indicates that a medical device may cause temporary or medically reversible health consequences. While Stryker has advised doctors to monitor hip recipients for problems possibly related to the LFIT V40 Femoral Head recall, the notification did not seek return of the affected devices or direct surgeons to notify patients of the action.