Zimmer Seeks to Limit Scope of NexGen Knee MDL
Zimmer Orthopaedics, Inc. is opposing the transfer of two Zimmer knee lawsuits to the multidistrict litigation (MDL) currently underway in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The MDL was established to handle the growing number of claims filed by plaintiffs through a Zimmer knee lawyer. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has agreed to consider the matter without oral argument at its May 31, 2012 meeting in Washington, D.C.
Two Zimmer knee lawsuits proposed for MDL inclusion
Zimmer reportedly opposes the transfer of the two Zimmer knee lawsuits because the company wants to limit the MDL to claims involving only the NexGen Flex Femoral Component or the MIS Tibial Component. The two cases proposed for transfer, filed by a Zimmer knee lawyer in Missouri and Minnesota, involve other NexGen products.
Neither the FDA not the manufacturer has instituted a Zimmer NexGen knee recall.
Zimmer knee lawsuits allege implants dislocated early
According to his Zimmer knee lawyer, the plaintiff in the Missouri case, Gene Wernette, reportedly underwent a double knee replacement surgery in 2009. In his right knee, Wernette received Zimmer’s stemmed tibial and femoral components, and a 10 mm articular surface. In his left knee, he received a NexGen LPS-Flex Implant and stemmed tibial and femoral components.
Neither device has been the subject of a a Zimmer NexGen knee recall.
Wernette’s Zimmer knee lawyer says that the implants in both knees began to loosen and dislocate in 2010, and that he underwent revision surgery to repair his right knee in 2011.
As with other plaintiffs who have filed Zimmer knee lawsuits, Wernette alleges that Zimmer failed to warn patients and physicians of design defects, and that the company’s implants were unreasonably dangerous. Through his Zimmer knee lawyer, he is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for his injuries.
Despite no Zimmer NexGen knee recall, plaintiff sues
The second case proposed for transfer to the Zimmer NexGen knee MDL involves an Oregon woman who filed her complaint in Minnesota federal court on February 24, 2012.
According to Sheila Madsen’s Zimmer knee lawyer, she received a NexGen LPS-Flex implant on September 1, 2009, and required a revision surgery only six months later, on March 15, 2010. Madsen has requested that a jury hear her claims for pain and suffering and economic loss.
