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Wright Medical Hip Replacement Lawsuit

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Hundreds of Wright Medical hip replacement lawsuits have been filed over complications allegedly associated with Conserve and Profemur hip implants. Some of these cases have gone to trial, resulting in significant verdicts for plaintiffs.

Wright Hip Legal Reviews

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is offering free legal reviews to individuals who may have suffered complications related to Wright Medical’s Conserve and Profemur  hip devices. To learn more, please call (888) 994-5118.

BREAKING NEWS: Wright Hip Settlement Announced

November 2016: Wright Medical has agreed to settle hundreds of hip lawsuits involving its  metal-on-metal Conserve, Lineage or Dynasty hip implants for $240 million. Those eligible to participate in the proposed accord include plaintiffs who underwent revision surgery within eight years of their initial hip replacement, and who filed  a lawsuit within the statute of limitations.  At least 95% of eligible plaintiffs must agree to the settlement terms in order for the agreement to take effect.  Read More

Update: Wright Hip Implant News

• April 2016: A federal judge reduced the judgment awarded to the plaintiff in the first federal Wright Conserver hip trial, cutting the $10 million punitive damage award to $1.1 million. However, U.S. District Judge William Duffey of the Northern District of Georgia did reject a defense request to overturn the verdict completely. Read More
• November 2015: The first federal bellwether trial of a Wright Conserve hip implant ends with an $11 million verdict for the plaintiff. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s all-metal Conserve hip had caused a metallosis reaction, resulting in damage to soft tissue. Read More
• June 2015: A California jury weighing evidence in the nation’s first Profemur hip trial returns a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding him $4.5 million. The jury found that Wright Medical was negligent in designing the implant. Read More
• June 2015: The first of more than 1,200 Wright hip lawsuits involving Profemur implants has gone to trial in California Superior Court. During opening statements, the plaintiff’s attorney asserted that laser etchings on the Profemur hip replacement made the device brittle and prone to fracture, causing it to snap just three years after it had been implanted in his client. Read More
• April 2013: A Joint Notice of Settlement has been filed in a Wright Profemur lawsuit that was scheduled to go to trial in California federal court this month. Details of the settlement are confidential. The case had been filed on behalf of a plaintiff whose Profemur hip was alleged to have “catastrophically failed without warning” four years later while he was walking outside his home. Read More
• February 2012: The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) centralizef all Wright hip replacement lawsuits involving the Conserve line of implants in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia. Read More

Wright Hip Implants: What’s The Problem?

Wright Medical’s line of Conserve hip implants includes the Conserve Total Hip Implant System, the Conserve Total A-Class Advanced Metal Hip Implant System and the Conserve Resurfacing System. These metal-on-metal hips feature an acetabular ball and femoral cup made from a chromium-cobalt alloy.  The Profemur hip is a modular neck and stem system made of titanium alloy. The line includes a choice of six interchangeable neck pieces available in two lengths, which enables a surgeon to create a customized fit for each patient.

Both the Conserve and Profemur hip lines were approved via the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) 510(k) clearance protocols. In such cases, the FDA does not require a device manufacturer to conduct human tests if it can be demonstrated that a new product is “substantially equivalent” to a device that was previously approved by the agency.

Data suggest that all-metal Conserve hips and the Profemur system are associated with unacceptably high rates of revision surgery. According to the National Joint Registry of England and Wales, the five-year revision rate for the Conserve Plus hip is 8.36 percent. In 2009, the Australian National Joint Replacement Registry noted that Wright Profemur hip replacements had a revision rate of 11.2 percent within three year. Ideally, a hip replacement should last between 15 and 20 years.

Metal-on-Metal Hip Controversy

In 2013, the FDA warned that metal-on- metal hips appeared to be more likely to fail prematurely compared to alternative designs. The agency now advises patients fitted with these types of implants to undergo metal ion blood testing if they experience pain, swelling, or other symptoms that could be indicative of implant failure.

Attorneys Investigating Wright Hip Implant Lawsuits

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is offering legal assistance to individuals who may have suffered debilitating complications due to a Conserve or Profemur hip implant. To learn more about filing a Wright hip replacement lawsuit, please call (888) 994-5118.