Stryker Hip Lawsuits Move Forward, as Federal Court Outlines Case Selection Process for LFIT V40 Femoral Head Trials

Published on December 18, 2017 by Sandy Liebhard

The federal court overseeing Stryker hip lawsuits involving injuries and complications allegedly associated with defective LFIT CoCr V40 Femoral Heads has set fourth procedures for selecting bellwether trial cases.

An Order issued  on December 8^th in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, directs the parties  to each designate nine Stryker hip lawsuits (18 total) for inclusion in an Initial Bellwether Discovery Pool by February 2, 2018. Cases eligible for the pool include those filed before December 12, 2017, where a “substantially completed” Plaintiffs’ Fact Sheet was served on or before January 12, 2018.

On September 4, 2018, each side is to submit a revised proposal as to the number of bellwether cases to be included in the Initial Bellwether Trial Pool. The proposals are also to address whether the goals of the litigation “are better served by proceeding only with cases involving hip implant devices which Plaintiff alleges caused his or her injury, consisting in part of an LFIT V40 head and an Accolade TMZF stem, or whether any case involving an LFIT V40 head should be eligible for the Initial Bellwether Trial Pool.”

Final bellwether trial cases will be selected by October 5, 2018.

What is the Stryker Hip Litigation About?

Stryker’s LFIT CoCr V40 Femoral Heads are designed to be used with several of the company’s modular hip stems, including Accolade, ABG II, Citation TMZF HA, Exeter V40, Hipstar, Meridian PA, Rejuvenate, Reliance PF, and Restoration.

Plaintiffs who have been fitted with these components claim that the LFIT V40 femoral head was not properly tested before being brought to market. They further assert that the component was wrongly marketed as the perfect fit for younger, more active patients, even though Stryker was aware that it was associated with a higher premature failure rate than similar components. The company is also accused of failing to provide doctors and patients with adequate warnings about the risks allegedly associates with LFIT V40 femoral heads.

Hundreds of LFIT V40 femoral head lawsuits are now pending in courts around the country, including the District of Massachusetts and New Jersey’s Bergen County Superior Court. Verdicts in future bellwether trials could provide insight into how other juries might rule in similar Stryker hip implant claims.

Stryker Hip Recall for LFIT V40 Femoral Heads

Certain LFIT V40 femoral heads manufactured before September 2011 were recalled last year, after they were found to suffer from higher-than-expected rates of taper lock failure. Patients who have received these recalled hip components may be 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.