Smith & Nephew Knee Lawsuit Filed Over Problems After Replacement Surgery

A product liability lawsuit has been filed against Smith & Nephew over allegedly defective knee implant components that failed less than two years after being implanted in a West Virginia man. 

The Smith & Nephew knee lawsuit was filed by Robert Morris and his wife, Jenny, in Kanawha Circuit Court in West Virginia.

According to the complaint, Morris had a Smith & Nephew Journey knee replacement system implanted in January 2009, including a Journey Deuce Oxinium femoral component, a Journey Uni right medial tibial baseplate, a Journey Uni right medial tibial insert and a Genesis II resurfacing patellar component.

In April 2010, less than 15 months after surgery, the artificial knee failed, causing Morris to undergo revision surgery to have the components replaced.

Morris is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, accusing Smith & Nephew of manufacturing and distributing defective knee components and failing to warn consumers about the risk of failure.

The case is one of a growing number of Smith & Nephew Journey knee replacement lawsuits filed by consumers who have experienced similar problems with the system.

In recent years, a number of Smith & Nephew recalls have been issued for different components involved in the knee replacement system.

Nearly 40,000 Journey Uni Tibial Baseplates were recalled in early 2010, due to a number of reported failures, which suggested that the component may have a tendency to fracture or break. This could result in severe pain and instability, often resulting in the need for surgery to revise the Smith & Nephew knee replacement or replace the base plate.

In February 2011, a study was presented to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that found that 16% of Smith & Nephew Journey-Deuce knee implants began to fail within 21 months and 39% of recipients reported poor results after receiving the implant.