Manufacturer Biomet Reaches Settlement Agreement in Personal Injury Cases Involving Artificial Hip
US-based medical device manufacturer Biomet has agreed to pay $200,000 per personal injury lawsuit in multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving their M2a Magnum artificial hips.
The M2a Magnum artificial hip devices are one of many metal-on-metal hip replacement devices that have led to legal trouble for the developers. Companies like Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopedics manufactured metal-on-metal artificial hip replacement devices, claiming that they were more effective and longer-lasting than existing ceramic-and-metal or plastic-and-metal. However, the devices actually failed earlier, usually within 5 years, and caused very serious side-effects including loss of mobility, infection from torn tissue, and metallosis – a type of metal poisoning caused by metal shavings entering the patient’s bloodstream as the metal parts of the artificial hip rubbed against each other.
“Biomet is pleased to have reached this settlement and have the MDL (multi-state litigation) resolved,” the Warsaw, Indiana-based company said in a statement.
The Biomet MDL began in 2012. The total settlement is estimated to be around $50 million. The settlement agreement will cover all pending and current personal injury lawsuits against the company, and any future lawsuits up to April 2014.
Biomet, however, continues to maintain that plaintiffs’ injuries were no caused by their all-metal artificial hip devices.
“Plaintiffs and Biomet are mindful of the uncertainties engendered by litigation and are desirous of settling and compromising their differences by entering into this settlement agreement,” Judge Robert Miller wrote in his order.
In November 2013, Johnson & Johnson/DePuy Orthopedics agreed to settle their all-metal artificial hip MDL for $4 billion.
Metal-on-Metal Artificial Hip Devices Cause Serious Side-Effects
A number of manufacturers created all-metal artificial hip replacement devices and resurfacing devices, which have failed at a high rate and caused very dangerous, life-limiting side effects in patients who received them. As a result, the FDA required metal-on-metal hip device producers to evaluate whether their implants raise the level of metal in patients’ blood to dangerous levels.
The FDA and all-metal artificial hip implant manufacturers received a huge number of complaints in the past few years. Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, DePuy, has been the focus of many of these lawsuits and complaints – so much so that in 2010, they recalled 93,000 all-metal hip implants because the failure rate was 12%.
The FDA also said there are a “small number of patients in which high levels of metal ions in the bloodstream may have caused other types of symptoms or illnesses elsewhere in the body, including effects on the heart, nervous system, and thyroid gland.”
Side effects from a failing all-metal artificial hip replacement device include:
- Pseudotumors from metal debris
- Allergic reactions
- Permanent muscle and tissue damage
- Loose hip cups
- Hip dislocations
- Bone fractures
The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Metal-on-Metal Artificial Hip Personal Injury Cases
If you or a loved one has received a metal artificial hip replacement device, from any number of manufacturers including DePuy Orthopedics or Biomet, and have since suffered painful side effects like infections and bone fractures, you may be entitled to compensation. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so do not hesitate to contact us. 803.252.4800.
