Posts Tagged ‘hip recall’

Lawsuits Filed for Faulty Durom Cups

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

In 2006 Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implants were approved for use in the United States. Within less than 2 years, more than 12,000 patients were functioning using a Durom Cup as a replacement device for a defective hip joint. Although these implants had been used for 3 years in Europe prior to being approved in the U.S. and had exhibited a high rate of success, in the U.S. patients started developing problems, some almost immediately after surgery. Their doctors, looking for reasons why the implants failed, decided that the Durom Cup was a defective device.

Patients who suffer from the use of defective prosthetic devices are protected by law in most U.S. states. These laws entitle a patient who experienced pain, incurred medical expenses, or lost wages due to a defect in a medical device to receive compensation for their losses. Zimmer has not yet conceded that their product is defective because of its success rate in the European market, but in order to give itself time to develop a better training program for American surgeons, Zimmer voluntarily pulled the cup from the American market in July, 2008.

If you perform a search on the Internet for “Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits”, you will find a host of attorneys who are looking to help file lawsuits against Zimmer on behalf of patients. As the number of cases of implant failures continues to grow, these attorneys have done their research and believe that they can file successful individual or class action lawsuits against the manufacturer.

Some physicians have performed exploratory surgeries to try and determine what is causing their patients so much trouble. In some cases they have discovered that the cup has become so loose in the socket that it just pops out when touched. In other cases, the entire device has been found to have migrated a short distance away from where it should be located. Since the device has reputedly been so successful in Europe, Zimmer continues to deny any wrongdoing. Even so, physicians have estimated that almost 6% of the Durom Cup implants will fail and need revision within the next few years.

People who own Zimmer stock have come to believe that the company was negligent in waiting until July, 2008 to pull the product off the American market. They and their attorneys feel it should have been pulled prior to January 22, 2008. Because of this belief, stockholders in Indiana have filed a class action lawsuit asking that damages be paid to those investors who bought stock between the January date and July, 2008 when the problem was announced and the product taken from the market.

Zimmer is still taking the position that its product is not defective. Instead they believe that the inadequate training given to physicians prior to performing the procedure is to blame. With this in mind, Zimmer announced in October, 2008 that it would be setting aside $47.5 million in order to pay off lawsuits resulting from the surgical failures referring to a July report which said that as much as 5.7% of the surgeries could require revision. This fund has been earmarked to pay for “revisions associated with surgeries that predate the company’s voluntary suspension and which also occur within two years of the original surgery date.

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Lawsuits are Pending against the Zimmer Durom Cup

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Zimmer Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of orthopedic devices, introduced its Durom Cup Hip Implant in 2003 in Europe. Three years later, in 2006, it was approved for use in the United States. From the onset, however, U.S. procedures were plagued with problems. Within the first two years of its use, 12,000 of the devices were implanted, and within a few months, many of them began to fail. In an attempt to explain the numerous surgical failures, doctors finally that the Durom Cup is a defective product.

Most states within the U.S. have laws designed to help patients who incur pain and suffering caused by defects in prosthetic devices. Per these laws, patients are entitled to compensation for their pain, medical expenses, and lost wages if it can be proven that a defective implant was to blame for their problems. Although Zimmer still stands fully behind its device based on its track record in Europe, it voluntarily pulled the product from the American market in July, 2008 in order to develop better training methods for doctors who insert the implants.

By using Google to search the Internet for “Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits” you can find many websites of attorneys who feel that patients have a case against Zimmer and offer to help them file lawsuits. The number of implant failures continues to grow, and these attorneys who have taken it upon themselves to become involved truly believe that Zimmer is at fault. Physicians tend to agree and estimate that hundreds of the devices will fail within the next few years.

Some physicians have performed exploratory surgeries to try and determine what is causing their patients so much trouble. In some cases they have discovered that the cup has become so loose in the socket that it just pops out when touched. In other cases, the entire device has been found to have migrated a short distance away from where it should be located. Since the device has reputedly been so successful in Europe, Zimmer continues to deny any wrongdoing. Even so, physicians have estimated that almost 6% of the Durom Cup implants will fail and need revision within the next few years.

Stockholders in Zimmer stocks feel that the company did not pull the product from the market quickly enough causing additional problems for patients. With this feeling in mind, stockholders filed a class action lawsuit in Indiana seeking damages for those who invested in company stocks between January and July, 2008. These stockholders and their attorneys believe that Zimmer should have suspended sales before January 22, 2008 when a large number of problems began to surface.

Zimmer is still taking the position that its product is not defective. Instead they believe that the inadequate training given to physicians prior to performing the procedure is to blame. With this in mind, Zimmer announced in October, 2008 that it would be setting aside $47.5 million in order to pay off lawsuits resulting from the surgical failures referring to a July report which said that as much as 5.7% of the surgeries could require revision. This fund has been earmarked to pay for “revisions associated with surgeries that predate the company’s voluntary suspension and which also occur within two years of the original surgery date.

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The Future of the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement Hip Implant

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

In 2006 a radical new hip replacement device called the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement was approved for use in the United States. This one-piece design was a radical change from the three-part implants that had been used in previous decades. Doctors were impressed by the track record the implants had enjoyed in Europe for three years prior to the device being introduced into American markets. However, the thrill of victory was rapidly overcome by the agony of defeat as hundreds of U.S. patients started suffering pain from loosening implants.

Soon after the surgeries began in 2006, patients started revisiting their doctors with complaints. Naturally, they knew it would take a reasonable amount of time for full recovery, but they were experiencing pain well after the expected three-month recovery time. Upon examination, doctors determined that a large number of these patients needed revision surgery to correct problems. These physicians now believe that as many as 5.7% of all those receiving the Durom Cup Replacements prior to July, 2008 will need revisions.

After studying the problems from January through July, 2008, Zimmer finally pulled the Durom Cup Replacement device from American markets. After devising a new Internet training program for surgeons, the cup was reintroduced in August, 2008. Only doctors who complete the online training are now able to do the implant surgeries, because the extra training was designed to drastically cut down on the number of revisions that will need to be done. About half of all doctors have refused so far to take the training. They no longer have enough faith in the Zimmer product to go to any extra work in order to use it.

Due to the problems so many patients have had with the Zimmer Durom Cup Replacement, there are many pending lawsuits against the company, including a class action suit filed in the state of Indiana by stockholders. At the end of the 3rd quarter of 2008, Zimmer announced it had set aside $47.5 million to cover the various lawsuits that were being brought against it. Although they still don’t feel their product is to blame, because they found it to be in no way defective, they still accept some of the liability for their failure to provide adequate training for doctors to teach them new implantation techniques.

Product liability attorneys are encouraging hip replacement patients to file suit if they are still having hip pain more than three months after their surgery, if there has been any loosening in their artificial joint, or if their doctors have recommended revision surgery to correct their problems. Most states have laws on the books that entitle patients to compensation if they have experienced pain, additional medical expense, and loss of wages caused by a defect in the prosthetic device they are using.

The Durom Cup Replacement is available and being used again in the U.S., but many physicians are still having doubts about the procedure and are choosing other options for their own patients. They still believe that the problem lies within the design of the implant and are hesitant to give it another chance. What patients need to look at is the fact that while there has been a 5.7% failure rate for patients using the Durom Cup implant, there has also been a success rate of almost 94.3%.

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Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits are Pending

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

In 2006 Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implants were approved for use in the United States. Within less than 2 years, more than 12,000 patients were functioning using a Durom Cup as a replacement device for a defective hip joint. Although these implants had been used for 3 years in Europe prior to being approved in the U.S. and had exhibited a high rate of success, in the U.S. patients started developing problems, some almost immediately after surgery. Their doctors, looking for reasons why the implants failed, decided that the Durom Cup was a defective device.

Patients who suffer from the use of defective prosthetic devices are protected by law in most U.S. states. These laws entitle a patient who experienced pain, incurred medical expenses, or lost wages due to a defect in a medical device to receive compensation for their losses. Zimmer has not yet conceded that their product is defective because of its success rate in the European market, but in order to give itself time to develop a better training program for American surgeons, Zimmer voluntarily pulled the cup from the American market in July, 2008.

By using Google to search the Internet for “Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits” you can find many websites of attorneys who feel that patients have a case against Zimmer and offer to help them file lawsuits. The number of implant failures continues to grow, and these attorneys who have taken it upon themselves to become involved truly believe that Zimmer is at fault. Physicians tend to agree and estimate that hundreds of the devices will fail within the next few years.

Doctors who have done further surgery to determine the cause of patient discomfort have found that the cups have loosened over time to the point where they just pop from the sockets at the slightest touch. Other patients have devices which have actually migrated a short distance in their bodies so they are no longer located exactly where they should be. Although Zimmer contends that the rate of failure of the Durom Cup is quite low, physicians believe that hundreds of them will fail and need revision within the next few years.

Stockholders in Zimmer stocks feel that the company did not pull the product from the market quickly enough causing additional problems for patients. With this feeling in mind, stockholders filed a class action lawsuit in Indiana seeking damages for those who invested in company stocks between January and July, 2008. These stockholders and their attorneys believe that Zimmer should have suspended sales before January 22, 2008 when a large number of problems began to surface.

Zimmer still pleads its case that its Durom Cup is not to blame for the surgical failures in the United States. Instead they contend that physicians did not receive adequate training for doing the procedure. Even so, in October, 2008, Zimmer announced that it had reserved $47.5 million to pay claims won in lawsuits against it. In July it was shown that the failure rate of cup implants could be as high as 5.7%. Zimmer states that this money is not being reserved for all patients and revisions but only for “revisions associated with surgeries that predate the company’s voluntary suspension and which also occur within two years of the original surgery date.” The resolution of this problem remains to be seen.

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Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits are Pending

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implants had been used successfully in Europe for 3 years prior to being approved for use in the United States in 2006. Less than two years later, the device had already been implanted in more than 12,000 American patients, and numerous problems with the implants were already beginning to surface. American doctors started searching for reasons the procedures had failed and pinpointed the cup as a defective product that was prone to problems.

Patients who suffer from the use of defective prosthetic devices are protected by law in most U.S. states. These laws entitle a patient who experienced pain, incurred medical expenses, or lost wages due to a defect in a medical device to receive compensation for their losses. Zimmer has not yet conceded that their product is defective because of its success rate in the European market, but in order to give itself time to develop a better training program for American surgeons, Zimmer voluntarily pulled the cup from the American market in July, 2008.

There are many websites on the Internet of attorneys who feel they can help patients file successful suits against Zimmer. Perform a search using the keywords “Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits” if you’d like to contact one of them. The number of failed implants is growing, and these attorneys who have researched the problem believe that patients have a good case against the company. Many physicians are in agreement with the attorneys as they estimate that within a few years’ time hundreds of the devices will fail causing revision surgery to become necessary.

Some physicians have performed exploratory surgeries to try and determine what is causing their patients so much trouble. In some cases they have discovered that the cup has become so loose in the socket that it just pops out when touched. In other cases, the entire device has been found to have migrated a short distance away from where it should be located. Since the device has reputedly been so successful in Europe, Zimmer continues to deny any wrongdoing. Even so, physicians have estimated that almost 6% of the Durom Cup implants will fail and need revision within the next few years.

Zimmer stockholders take the position that Zimmer should have announced a suspension of U.S. sales before January 22, 2008 instead of waiting until July. Because of this belief, they have filed a class action lawsuit in Indiana requesting damages for those investors who purchased stock between January 22 and July, 2008 when the product was finally pulled from the market.

Zimmer still pleads its case that its Durom Cup is not to blame for the surgical failures in the United States. Instead they contend that physicians did not receive adequate training for doing the procedure. Even so, in October, 2008, Zimmer announced that it had reserved $47.5 million to pay claims won in lawsuits against it. In July it was shown that the failure rate of cup implants could be as high as 5.7%. Zimmer states that this money is not being reserved for all patients and revisions but only for “revisions associated with surgeries that predate the company’s voluntary suspension and which also occur within two years of the original surgery date.” The resolution of this problem remains to be seen.

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