Stryker Orthopedics, a global leader in medical technology, manufactures hip replacements. In 2012, the company recalled two lines of its hip replacement devices: ABG II and Stryker Rejuvenate. These were made of two components rather than a single piece, and they were designed to permit surgeons to customize replacements to patients' individual anatomies. Stryker claimed that these replacements could last up to 20 years. However, our Stryker hip replacement lawyers know that numerous allegations have been made that the implants are flawed, forcing patients to experience crippling pain and requiring revision surgery for removal. Victims also claim negligent design and testing, failure to warn, and concealment of serious injury risks. Stryker Orthopedics has settled several cases, and in 2014 it reached a $1.4 billion settlement to pay claims. If you suffered injuries due to a Stryker hip replacement or another defective medical device, the product liability lawyers at Moll Law Group are available to represent you. Billions of dollars have been recovered in cases in which we were involved.
Manufacturers of medical devices are required to provide adequate warnings about the risks of using their products. A manufacturer that fails to offer adequate warnings about an adverse side effect or risk may be held strictly liable if a consumer is injured as a result of that failure. Even more serious is a case in which a manufacturer knows of a risk but conceals it.
Design defects are flaws inherent to the design of the product that make it unreasonably dangerous. Usually, a design defect case emphasizes the active choices made by the manufacturer when designing the product, in contrast to manufacturing defect cases that focus on the errors made by the manufacturer when producing the product. A Stryker hip replacement lawyer can help a plaintiff determine whether their device had a manufacturing or design defect.
Generally, liability arises if a particular design poses a foreseeable risk when manufactured according to its plans and used for an intended or foreseeable purpose. Plaintiffs must prove that the risk could have been reduced or avoided altogether had the manufacturer used a reasonable alternative design. However, the alternative design must be feasible, not too expensive with the modification, and with the same intended purpose as the original design.
Often, the parties disagree as to whether the alternative design proposed by a plaintiff would cost too much. The court will conduct a cost-benefit analysis, looking at the additional costs as compared to the estimated damages that would occur because the modification requested by the plaintiff was not made.
People who successfully prove product liability claims may be able to recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, mental anguish, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. Plaintiffs who are able to show that Stryker knew of the risks associated with their hip replacement devices and concealed them may be able to recover punitive damages. Unlike compensatory damages, which are meant to put the plaintiff in the position he would have been in without the injury, these are damages awarded to punish the defendant and deter future similar conduct by others.
If you are hurt after being implanted with a hip replacement, the product liability attorneys at Moll Law Group are available to represent you in pursuing compensation. We represent injured individuals nationwide, including in California, Florida, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. Call us at 312-462-1700 or use our online form to set up a free consultation with a Stryker hip replacement attorney.