Stryker Hip Lawsuit Plaintiffs File Master Complaint in Federal LFIT V40 Femoral Head Litigation

Published on November 9, 2017 by Sandy Liebhard

The federal litigation established for Stryker hip lawsuits involving allegedly defective LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Head components has reached an important milestone, as plaintiffs recently filed the proceeding’s Master Complaint.

Master Complaints are frequently used in multidistrict litigations and other large, centralized proceedings. They are intended to promote judicial efficiency by streamlining the process for filing a lawsuit. The Master Complaint serves as a template and includes all allegations common to all cases. Once a Master Complaint has been filed with a court, new plaintiffs are able to file their lawsuits via a standardized Short Form Complaint.

Details of Stryker Hip Master Complaint

The Master Complaint for the Stryker hip litigation was filed with the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, on October 27^th. Among other things, the document sets forth all of the Stryker hip components that can be used in conjunction with the LFIT V40 femoral heads, including:

• The Accolade® TMZF Femoral Stem
• Accolade II® Femoral Stem
• Restoration™ Femoral Hip Stem
• Rejuvenate® Monolithic Stem
• ABG II Monolithic Femoral Stem
• Hipstar® Femoral Stem
• Citation TMZF HA Stem
• Meridian® PA Femoral Stem
• Exeter® V40™ Femoral Stem
• Reliance® PF Femoral Stem

The complaint claims that Stryker’s LFIT femoral heads are defective, causing plaintiffs to suffer one or one or more of the following:

• Fretting
• Corrosion
• Release of metal ions and/or metal wear debris followed by pain, disability, destruction of tissue
• Development of fluid collections and pseudotumor
• Necessity of revision surgery (removal and replacement)

Frequent findings during revision surgery include:

• Presence of turbid, milky fluid collection
• Large pseudotumor formation
• Discolored or friable soft tissue and bone
• Bone and soft tissue necrosis
• Detachment or tearing of muscle

Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head 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.”  Recipients of these recalled devices may be at risk for adverse local tissue reactions, dislocation, and other debilitating complications that result premature failure of the implant and the need for revision surgery.

All recalled LFIT V40 femoral heads were manufactured prior to 2011.  Catalog numbers and sizes include:

• Catalog #6260-9-236; Head diameter 36mm; Offset +5
• Catalog #6260-9-240; Head diameter 40mm; Offset +4
• Catalog #6260-9-244; Head diameter 44mm; Offset +4
• Catalog #6260-9-340; Head diameter 40mm; Offset +8
• Catalog #6260·9-440; Head diameter 40mm; Offset +12
• Catalog #6260-9-344; Head diameter 44mm; Offset +8
• Catalog #6260-9-444; Head diameter 44mm; Offset +12.

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

Stryker Hip Litigation

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) centralized all federally-filed product liability claims involving Stryker LFIT V40 femoral heads in the District of Massachusetts in April. Around 100 cases are now pending in the proceeding.

A centralized proceeding has also been established in Bergen County Superior Court for LFIT 4V0 femoral head lawsuits filed in New Jersey state courts.