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Complications after a hip replacement?
Wright Medical Hip Replacement Lawsuits
Did you or a loved one suffer complications after receiving a hip implant? Our Tennessee defective medical device attorneys can determine if you're eligible for compensation.
In 2017, Tennessee-based company Wright Medical Group ended a more than 6-year legal battle by agreeing to settle to the tune of $90 million in nearly 600 personal injury lawsuits pending against the medical device manufacturer in the Georgia and California court systems. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits claimed they were injured in some way by Wright's metal-on-metal hip implants. Many patients required revision surgery to replace the defective implants.
This massive settlement came on the heels of another $240 million payout in November 2016 for nearly 1,300 people (an average of $120,000-$170,000 to each patient) who also sued Wright for its defective hip replacement devices. In total, roughly 2,000 hip lawsuits have been filed against the company.
The trouble for Wright began back in 2010, when patients reported requiring revision surgery in 1 out of every 5 Wright Conserve hip replacements less than five years after the initial implant surgery.
Doctors reported failing hips, metal poisoning (metallosis), bone and tissue damage, and other defects. Not long after, some of these same problems were reported in the Dynasty and Lineage models as well.
When it was all said and done, thousands of metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuits were filed against Wright and several other major manufacturers, including:
- Stryker
- And others...
Video courtesy of Consumer Reports
Wright sold its entire hip and knee implant business to MicroPort Scientific Corporation in early 2017 for $290 million, but the company continues to face the legal ramifications of its defective implants. And we're only getting started. Experts anticipate that many more settlements and verdicts may be forthcoming in the months and years ahead.
Can you file a lawsuit? Every defective hip implant case is different. The only way to find out for sure if you have a case against Wright Medical or another manufacturer is to speak with an experienced attorney. Our Tennessee injury lawyers have decades of experience helping people get the compensation they're owed from negligent medical device manufacturers.
Did you or a loved one receive a metal-on-metal hip implant?
Gilreath & Associates helps patients recover financially from defective hip replacements manufactured by Wright and other medical device makers by fighting to secure the compensation they are owed.
Complete the form below or call our attorneys today for a free consultation.
Tennessee Defective Hip Implant Attorneys with 50+ Years of Experience
From our offices in Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, experienced Tennessee lawyers at Gilreath & Associates, led by nationally recognized attorney Sid Gilreath, provide honest and knowledgeable legal counsel to those who are affected in Tennessee and throughout the Southeast. Sid has been practicing law since 1962, so he is highly experienced in what it takes to win cases like yours.
Normally, only 1 in 10 hip implants will fail within 15 years of being implanted. But the Wright hip replacement devices were failing at a much higher rate and more often. The facts are clear: Wright either concealed information about its implants' safety or failed to adequately test the device. Either way, we must hold Wright and other metal-on-metal hip implant manufacturers accountable for putting profits over people.
- Sid Gilreath, Founder of Gilreath & Associates
Wright FAQs
Complaints about Wright Medical hip replacements have been filed against the following device models:
- Wright Lineage
- Wright Dynasty
- Wright Conserve
Wright also settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount in November 2013 over its Profemur hip stem. The FDA issued a Class I recall—the agency's most serious type of recall—for the Profemur, warning that an acute fracture of the device would require emergency surgery and "lead to neurovascular damage, hematoma, hemorrhage, and even death."
Most hip replacement devices have two basic parts: the round cup for the hip bone – the acetabular cup — and the new ball of the leg bone called the femoral head. Manufacturers use many different materials to resurface the cup and the ball of the leg bone that fits into the cup. Popular models include ceramic-on-ceramic, metal on polyethylene plastic, ceramic-on-metal, and metal-on-metal. The metal-on-metal uses chromium and cobalt.
Since the early 2000s, metal-on-metal hip implants have been the focus of many defective medical device lawsuits. Metallosis, or metal poisoning, has been shown to occur when the metal ball and metal socket rub together. This friction can release small amounts of toxic cobalt and other metal debris into the body, causing bone and muscle tissue damage or death.
Other common problems associated with metal-on-metal implants include:
- Joint dislocation
- Early device failure
- Infection
- Severe pain
- Loosening
- Corrosion
- Fractures
- Fretting
More Hip Replacement Information
Visit our blog and Tennessee Personal Injury Guide for more information.
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Tennessee Personal Injury Lawyers at Gilreath & Associates offer free and personal consultation to help you evaluate your legal options.
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