Stryker Hip Lawsuit New: Status of LFIT V40 Femoral Head Litigation to Be Addressed During New Jersey Conference

Published on July 28, 2017 by Sandy Liebhard

The New Jersey court overseeing dozens of Stryker hip lawsuits involving LFIT CoCr V40 Femoral Heads is scheduled to address the status of the litigation on Monday, July 31^st.

According to a calendar posting, Monday’s Case Management Conference will be convened at 2:00 p.m. in Bergen County Superior Court, before Judge Rachelle L. Harz in courtroom 359 (Rotunda Building).

Product liability claims involving LFIT V40 femoral heads were centralized  last May, so as to allow all such Stryker hip lawsuits filed in New Jersey state courts to undergo coordinated pretrial proceedings.  The upcoming Case Management Conference will likely address a number of issues, including the status of discovery, the status of any pending motions, and the status of any settlement or medication efforts.

What Is the Stryker Hip Litigation About?

Stryker’s LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads are constructed from a chromium/cobalt alloy, and are designed for use with several Stryker modular hip replacement devices, including:

• Accolade TMZF
• Accolade 2 Stems
• Meridian Stems
• Citation Stems

Plaintiffs with Stryker hip lawsuits pending in Bergen County Superior Court claim that Stryker has known for years that its LFIT V40 femoral heads were defective and dangerous, but downplayed their risks and failed provide doctors and patients with appropriate safety warnings.

Stryker Hip Recall

Stryker recalled certain LFIT CoCr V40 Femoral Heads in August 2016, after the components had been associated with a “higher than expected number of complaints involving taper lock failure.”  Taper lock failure can result in numerous debilitating complications that may result in hip replacement failure and the need for revision surgery.

Patients who have been implanted with devices included in the Stryker hip recall are at risk for:

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

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) designated Stryker’s action a Class II recall, which indicates that the affected devices could cause temporary or medically reversible health effects.

Although many of the Stryker hip lawsuits currently pending in Bergen County Superior Court do involve recalled LFIT V40 femoral heads, it should be noted that cases involving non-recalled lot numbers are also eligible for inclusion in the proceeding.