MDL Panel Rejects Centralization of Shoulder Pump Chondrolysis Suits Again

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has once again denied a request to consolidate and centralize all shoulder pain pump lawsuits, saying that despite the growing number of cases, there is not enough commonality to have the federal litigation transferred to one court for coordinated management. 

More than 100 shoulder pump chondrolysis suits have been filed in federal courts throughout the country against the manufacturers of disposable pain pumps, including I-Flow Corp., Stryker Corp., DJO, Inc., and other companies. They all involve similar allegations that the intra-articular use of pain pumps to deliver a combination of pain medications during the days after surgery can cause the progressive destruction of shoulder cartilage, causing new shoulder problems and potentially resulting in the need for shoulder replacement surgery.

Although the MDL panel rejected a similar motion to centralize the shoulder pump litigation in August 2008, when there were about 32 cases pending, a new motion was filed earlier this year, asking the panel to transfer the cases to one court for coordinated handling to avoid conflicting scheduling orders and rulings in the different courts where the cases are pending. However, the panel again rejected the request to establish a multidistrict litigation (MDL), saying the cases reflect lawsuits against a variety of different pain pumps made by a number of manufacturers using various different medications.

“Although the number of related actions has certainly grown, the issues that weighed against centralization in that earlier docket remain,” the panel explained in its decision. “An indeterminate number of different pain pumps made by different manufacturers are still at issue, as are different anesthetics made by different pharmaceutical companies.”

The panel said that individual issues of causation and liability are likely to overwhelm any efficiency that would be gained by consolidating the cases. The decision means that shoulder pump claims will proceed as individual cases, but some courts have consolidated small groups of cases.

The cases involve allegations that plaintiffs developed shoulder chondrolysis from the ambulatory pain pumps, which is a rare condition that involves the progressive loss of cartilage in the shoulder joint. Research has suggested that the intra-articular use of the pumps to deliver a combination of medications to manage pain after arthroscopic shoulder surgery, could cause this painful and debilitating condition. The cartilage damage is permanent, resulting in severe limitations on range of motion and use of the shoulder. In many cases, individuals who develop chondrolysis require a total shoulder replacement surgery.

The panel’s decision follows a January trial victory for plaintiff Matthew Beale against I-Flow Corp. An Oregon jury awarded Beale $4.75 million in a lawsuit that claimed that the On-Q Painbuster destroyed cartilage in his shoulder.

Earlier this month, it was reported that I-Flow settled five similar lawsuits as trial was set to begin, after it failed to get them dismissed by a federal judge in Ohio. The details of the settlements have not been disclosed.

In November 2009, the FDA required manufacturers of the pumps and the local anesthetics used with the devices to add new warnings about the risk of chondrolysis from should pain pumps. The recent warnings were designed to alert healthcare professionals that the use of pain pumps following shoulder surgery to infuse medication directly into the joint increases the risk of chondrolysis, particularly involving the shoulder.