Top Defective Knee Replacements 2017
Many have welcomed this New Year with getting a knee replacement surgery on their resolutions list. Although the surgery can be rewarding for those who reach its end successfully, as one of the most investigative defective knee replacement firms in the country, we have seen many reports of defective devices. In 2017, a relatively high amount of defective knee replacement incidents were reported. Leaving professionals across many industries to question the pharmaceutical companies’ relationships with the FDA and the knee replacement devices that are currently available to consumers.
Zimmer Persona & NexGen Knee Replacement
Persona Trabecular Plate Loosening
Zimmer, Inc. is one of the leading orthopedic device makers in the country and their products leading up to 2017 heavily dominated the market in close competition with DePuy and B.Braun.
In March of 2012, Zimmer issued a voluntary recall of a component of the popular Zimmer Persona Knee. This component, called the Trabecular Metal Plate, had received increased complaints of “radiolucent lines and loosening.” The FDA notice went on to note that all devices with the plate would be “removed from distribution.”
During this time Zimmer was also was fighting vigorously to suppress 5,900 lawsuits questioning the safety of the NexGen knee replacement devices that were consolidated in a multi-district litigation. Despite the more frequent claims of defective Zimmer devices, the pharmaceutical giant has gone on to win the first 3 bellwether trials in the MDL involving the NexGen implants.
If you or someone that you know has suffered as a result of a Zimmer knee replacement device, having the proper litigation team on your side is necessary.
B.Braun Knee Replacement Devices
Loosening and Failures of the B. Braun Knee Devices Lead to Lawsuit
Since the end of 2017, the attorneys from the Johnston Law Group have been co-representing 25 plaintiffs involved in a decisive case with device maker B. Braun regarding the safety of their ceramic coated joints. The case alleges that the ceramic coated joints did not properly bond with the cement used to adhere them to patients bones.
Read more > Patients Sue B. Braun
Prior to this case, B. Braun was also making news for an FDArecall of one of its devices in early 2016.
ExacTech Optetrak Knee Replacement
Reports of Revision Surgeries Due to Optetrak Devices
Many devices and drugs are available to consumers after short clinical trials and without the type of data needed from long-term testing. The Optetrak knee replacement device was popular amongst consumers prior to 2011 when an FDA recall was issued that called for customers to “immediately cease distribution or use of the products.”
In October of 2017, a man from Alabama Marcus H. Talley, filed a lawsuit against ExacTech, Inc. claiming the Optetrak device was defective. The complaint reads:
Plaintiff Marcus H. Talley suffered as a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ designing, developing, testing, assembling, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, preparing, distributing, marketing, supplying, warranting and/or selling the defective device sold under the name “Optetrak” total knee replacement system (hereinafter “Optetrak” or “Defective Device”).
2017 Oct-12 PM 01:19 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA.
DePuy Sigma & Attune Knee Replacements
DePuy Amasses Voluntary Recalls of Sigma Knee Replacement Pieces
DePuy, is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and also one of the biggest orthopedic device makers in the country. It is believed that doctors have already installed an estimated 1.7 million of the Sigma knee replacement device type only.
Whether as an extranility of the company's size or a reflection of its products, the truth is that DePuy has issued hundreds of recalls over the last decade.
At the end of 2017, the company issued yet another recall for 7,500 components that are used in partial knee replacement. The component in question a part of the Sigma system known as the “SIGMA HP PFJ Cemented Trochlear Implants.”
In September of 2017, a lawsuit was also filed against the company regarding the safety of its Attune Knee which was also the subject of an FDA recall in 2015.
Defective Knee Replacement Lawsuits
Pharmaceutical companies like B.Braun, DePuy, and Zimmer make millions of dollars off the distribution of products like the Persona Knee, Sigma Knees, and more. Finding the proper litigation team to represent you in your defective knee replacement lawsuit can be critical. Our team at the Johnston Law Group offers years of experiences in litigations like these.
Contact us today to learn more about a defective knee replacement lawsuit.