WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --South Florida law firm Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA (Searcy Denney) announced today that ithasfiledthe firstlawsuit againstHowmedica Osteonics Corporation,dbaStryker Orthopaedics, claiming damages caused by the company's defectiveand recalled Rejuvenateand ABG IIhip implantsystems.
The suit was filed in Bergen County, New JerseySuperior Court,by Searcy Denney andWeitz& Luxenbergonbehalf of plaintiffs Dianne and Phillip Pingel.The plaintiffs allege that thedefendant was negligent and failed touse reasonable care for the safety and well-being of patientsinthe development, testing, marketing, packaging, and selling of the defective product.
On July 4, 2012, Stryker postedanational recallofthe Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implant systemsapparentlyafter receivingmultiplereports ofthepremature failure ofthose implants."Thatrecallis tantamount toan unequivocaladmission by the defendant as to the dangers and defects of their product," said Cal Warriner, a shareholder at Searcy Denney, who represents Mr. and Mrs. Pingel."Stryker must now redress the damages that these defective systems have caused."
Thelawsuitseeks compensatory and punitive damages to cover the medical, hospital, rehabilitation, and pharmaceutical costs incurredby the plaintiffsas a direct result of the implant failures.
"Currently there are more than 60 adverse event reports filed with the FDA's MAUDE incident reporting system," Warriner added. "The Rejuvenate device has been on the market since 2009 and the number of incidents has been climbing exponentially since the beginning of 2012.
"These devices are supposed to last 15 to 20 years. When they fail in huge numbers in less than two years post-implant, there is a serious problem."
Dianne Pingel had the misfortune of being implanted with two defective Stryker Rejuvenate hip implants. One of the implants failed, due toheavy metal ion contamination and poisoning caused by fretting and corrosion. During her revision surgery, her femur fractured. Four weeks later, her hip dislocated and her femur fractured again. She has undergone a third surgery recently and is currently confined to a nursing home. In the future, she will need to undergo additional surgery to remove the defective Rejuvenate implant from her other hip. Her recovery has been complicated bypseudotumorformation, bonenecrosis,andadverse soft tissue reactions relating to the implant corrosion.
Stryker hip implants have been aparticularsource of controversy since April 2012, whenHowmedica Osteonics issued an Urgent Field Safety Notice to surgeons and hospitals that cited failures at the taper neck junction causing corrosion and fretting. The defendant had previously claimed that these problems would not occur due to the new design of the system.
The plaintiffs have requested a jury trial.
About Searcy Denney ScarolaBarnhart & Shipley, PA:
A nationally recognized trial law firm, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A. is committed to protecting victims of negligence, defective products and corporate wrongdoing.Over the past 30 years, the firm has represented clients in courtrooms throughout Florida and across the nation.
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