Stryker Hip Lawsuits Move Forward in New Jersey, with Issuance of New Orders Governing LFIT V40 Femoral Head Claims

Published on March 20, 2018 by Sandy Liebhard

The New Jersey Superior Court overseeing scores of hip replacement lawsuits filed on behalf of plaintiffs who suffered injuries and complications allegedly related to the failure of Stryker’s LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads has issued new orders in recent days, including the litigation’s 5^th  Case Management Order and a Deposition Guideline Order.

Stryker Hip Lawsuit Deposition Guideline Order

The Deposition Guideline Order was issued in Bergen County Superior Court on March 16th and governs and controls the conduct of all witness depositions taken in the course of the multi-county litigation. Among other things, it is intended to gain the highest degree of efficiency in taking depositions and to ensure seamless coordination with the federal LFIT V40 hip litigation currently underway in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.

Among other things, the Order provides for joint depositions with the federal proceeding in order to minimize expense and inconvenience. The Order also directs the parties to meet and confer with counsel in other state-level Stryker hip litigations, including those underway in Florida and Massachusetts, on potential joint depositions.

Other deposition-related matters covered by the Order include:

• Content and Notice
• Cooperation and Scheduling
• Location
• Attendance
• Duration
• Conduct of Objections, Directions Not to Answer, and Disputes
• Means of Recording
• Documents Used in Connection with Depositions
• Copies of Transcripts of Recordings
• Video Depositions

Stryker Hip Lawsuit 5^th Case Management Order

The Stryker hip litigation’s 5^th Case Management Order was also issued on March 16th.

Among other things, the Order directs the parties to meet and confer on bellwether case selection. The proceeding is scheduled to convene a telephone conference regarding this matter on March 28^th at 11:00 a.m.

The New Jersey litigation will also convene its next regular monthly Case Management Conference on April 25^th at 11:00 a.m.

LFIT V40 Femoral Head Complications and Recall

Close to 150 Stryker hip lawsuits involving LFIT V40 femoral heads have been centralized in Bergen County Superior Court.  Another 223 claims are undergoing coordinated pretrial proceedings in the federal litigation now underway in the District of Massachusetts.

Stryker’s LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads were designed for use with Accolade, ABG II, Citation TMZF HA, Exeter V40, Hipstar, Meridian PA, Rejuvenate, Reliance PF, and Restoration modular.  In August 2016, an unusually high number of reports involving taper-lock failure prompted Stryker to recall LFIT V40 femoral heads manufactured before 2011.

Patients who experience taper lock failure in connection with an LFIT V40 femoral head are at risk for a wide range of potentially debilitating complications and injuries, including:

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

Because of these risks, the FDA designated this Stryker hip recall Class II, the agency’s second most serious recall category.