Stryker Hip Settlement Covers Additional Recalled Rejuvenate, ABGII Implants

Since a growing number of individuals nationwide with recalled Stryker hip replacements have continued to experience problems and require revision surgery after an initial settlement reached in 2014, the manufacturer has agreed to resolve additional claims involving complications with Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implants.

The Stryker hip settlement was first reached more than two years ago, resulting in payments of more than $1 billion to resolve claims brought by several thousand individuals who had a Rejuvenate or ABG II implant revised on or before November 2, 2014. The deal provided an average base payment of $300,000 for each plaintiff, with several factors that may reduce the base award or increase it. However, the settlement did not cover thousands of individuals who had the recalled hip replacement implanted in their body, but had not yet experienced complications or required revision surgery.

The Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II are modular hip implants that were recalled in July 2012, after the manufacturer acknowledged that a higher than expected number of individuals were experiencing problems with the device, often involving fretting or corrosion at the point where the two metal pieces fit inside of each other, frequently resulting in the need for risky revision surgery within a few years.

According to a court order (PDF) issued this week by U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, who is presiding over all federal Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II litigation, the parties have agreed to expand the settlement to include individuals who have undergone revision surgery due to a failed implant, allowing registration of those claims between December 19, 2016 and January 9, 2017.

Attorneys have been directed to identify all clients with filed and unfiled cases, which were not previously registered and which remain unsettled. For cases that were previously registered, but did not settle or resolve, attorneys have been directed to update the revision status of each plaintiff.

About 20,000 Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implants were sold before the recall, and many remain implanted in patients today. Therefore, it is still expected that additional settlements for failing Stryker hip replacements may be necessary in the future, as the risk of failure increases the longer the device is in place.

As the manufacturer moves to resolve additional Rejuvenate and ABG II cases, a growing number of new Stryker hip lawsuits are being filed in courts nationwide over recent problems that have surfaced with a different implant component, the LFit v40 femoral head, which was removed from the market earlier this year amid reports of problems.