While metal-on-metal hip implants are intended to provide a more durable alternative to other types of artificial hips, some patients have experienced a range of serious complications resulting from these medical devices. These complications, which can include bone deterioration, displaced implants, and increased levels of metal toxicity in the blood, have led to a number of patients filing a California Zimmer Kinectiv lawsuit as a result of their hip replacement procedure.
If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with a Zimmer hip implant or any metal-on-metal hip replacement, contact Attorney Group for California today. We provide free, confidential, no-obligation consultations, and if you have case we can connect you with an affiliated Zimmer hip attorney who can assist you throughout the legal process. The time to pursue a claim is limited, so contact us today.
How Do Hip Implants Work?
Patients suffering from arthritis are often prime candidates for hip replacement surgery (although patients experiencing significant physical trauma are also recommended for the procedure). Over time the disease damages the hip joint, thereby causing increasing discomfort as well as reduced mobility. When nonsurgical interventions prove ineffective, doctors will often recommend hip replacement surgery to bring relief.
Doctors begin hip implant surgery by removing the cartilage and bone damaged by arthritis to make room for the artificial joint. The implant itself simulates the natural ball-and-socket hip joint and is affixed to the bone via a metal rod. While implants can be made from a variety of materials, metal-on- metal designs are most often used due to claims that they are more durable than implants made from other materials.
Risks Associated With Metal-On-Metal Hip Implants
While many patients experience success after hip replacement surgery, some patients are faced with serious risks and complications resulting from the procedure. These may include:
- Displaced implants – The ball of an artificial hip implant can sometimes become displaced from the socket. Continuous displacement will call for further surgery to help stabilize the implant.
- Loosened implants – Should the implant fail to make a proper connection to the bone, loosening of the implant can occur. In this case, revision surgery is usually recommended.
- Infection – As with most surgical procedures, implantation of an artificial hip can result in an infection. A significant infection located around the prosthesis typically requires additional surgery to remove the implant.
- Increased metal toxicity – Patients undergoing metal on metal hip replacements also run the risk of elevated metal toxicity levels in the blood. This is caused by the metal components of the implant coming into constant contact, which results in metal ions making their way into the bloodstream.
Surgeons have performed thousands of revision surgeries due to metal debris caused by metal-on-metal hip replacements, and many orthopedists have decreased their use of metal-on-metal hip implants by up to 80 percent. Instead, they are using implants made from materials other than metal-on-metal.
How Can a California Zimmer Kinectiv Lawsuit Help?
Manufacturer knowledge of the risks and complications of hip implant devices are often cited in lawsuits filed by injured patients, many of whom claim they were not appropriately informed of all possible risks before agreeing to undergo the metal-on-metal implant procedure. Furthermore, injured patients also allege that a number of the complications are directly related to the poor design of these medical devices, with metal-on-metal implants in particular associated with a number of serious side effects.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have also noted these concerns in the past. After a 2012 advisory panel meeting, the agency used available data regarding the failure rates and pertinent risk factors of metal-on-metal implants to provide updated safety information to health care providers all across the United States. As recently as June 2015, the FDA also instituted a Class 1 recall of a Zimmer Kinectiv M/L Taper prostheses manufactured by Zimmer Inc., which stemmed from a toxic residue contaminating approximately 752 implants.
Injured Patients May be Eligible for Compensation
Device makers have a duty to design and produce safe products, and to warn of possible risks associated with their products. Failure to fulfill that duty can result in injuries to patients, and the device maker being held liable for those injuries.
Patients who are injured by metal-on-metal hip replacements may be entitled to compensation for damages resulting from injuries. Compensation can be based on factors including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Pain, suffering, and mental anguish from an injury
- Loss of income or ability to work due to loss of mobility
If a loved one dies after complications from a metal-on-metal hip implant, family members may be able to pursue claims for wrongful death damages, including:
- Conscious pain and suffering of a loved one prior to death
- Loss of financial support
- Pain, suffering, and mental anguish resulting from the loss of a loved one
Affected patients and their families are encouraged to seek the advice of a California Zimmer Kinectiv lawsuit attorney to discuss their legal rights and options for compensation.
Contact Us For More Information
If you have been injured by a metal-on-metal hip replacement, contact Attorney Group for California. You can fill out the form on this page, call us at the number listed at the top of the page, or email us at info@attorneygroup.com.
When you contact us, an attorney will follow up with you to speak with you about your case or answer questions that you might have. There is no cost or obligation to speak with us, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.
Please note that the law limits the time you have to pursue a claim for an injury. If you think you have a case, you should not delay taking action.
See our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information, and contact Attorney Group for California today.
