Class Action Lawsuit Over Zimmer Hip Replacement Filed in Canada

A class action lawsuit has been filed in Canada over the Zimmer Durom Cup hip replacement recall, alleging that the manufacturer ignored signs of problems with the hip implant and allowed sales to continue in Canada without adequate warnings.

The Zimmer hip replacement class action lawsuit was filed on October 27, and seeks to represent everyone in Canada who has received the Zimmer Durom Cup implant, which was first introduced in Canada in 2005.

The complaint alleges that Zimmer initially began receiving complaints about problems with the Zimmer Durom Cup as early as 2007, and while they halted sales in the United States in July 2008, sales were allowed to continue in Canada. Zimmer did not issue a safety notice in Canada until November 15, 2009, more than a year later.

The primary plaintiff in the Canadian class action suit, Eric Mets of Toronto, received the implant in October 2008, following the temporary suspension of sales in the U.S. The lawsuit alleges that Mets suffered severe pain following the procedure due to defects with the artificial hip implant and had to have further hip surgery to correct the problems.

The Zimmer Durom Cup artificial hip is a metal-on-metal implant, which was designed as a more advanced form of a hip resurfacing system. The device is designed out of a single piece of material and is supposed to avoid problems associated with traditional hip replacement components, such as instability, limited range of motion and wear of the bearing.

Shortly after Zimmer introduced the Durom Cup in the United States, concerns emerged about a high number of hip replacement failures involving the hip implant, where the component loosened and required revision surgery. A temporary Zimmer Durom Cup recall was issued in July 2008, so that modifications could be made to the product’s warnings and instructions in the United States to ensure that doctors were properly trained on the surgical techniques needed to implant the artificial hip correctly.

While Zimmer’s own estimates in 2008 suggested that some doctors in the United States experienced failure rates as high as 5.7%, more recent claims made in Zimmer Durom Cup lawsuits suggest that the artificial hip failure rate is between 20% and 30%.

In June, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decided to consolidate and centralize all lawsuits over the Zimmer hip replacement in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for pretrial litigation. At that time, 45 cases had been filed in federal courts throughout the United States. However, as additional cases are filed by Zimmer Durom Cup lawyers in federal court, they will be transferred to New Jersey for coordinated handling.

It has been reported that the manufacturer has reached Zimmer Durom Cup settlements in many cases in the United States.

In recent months, a number of similar problems have surfaced in the United States with reports that other metal-on-metal hip replacements are failing earlier than expected. The use of a metal-on-metal design has been linked to an increased risk that the artificial hip may release small particles of metal into the body, increasing the risk of problems after a hip replacement or other health concerns.

In August, a DePuy ASR recall was issued for about 93,000 metal-on-metal hip replacements after it was discovered that about 12% to 13% of the individuals who received the implant had their device fail within five years. Like the Zimmer Durom Cup, a number of individuals are pursuing DePuy ASR hip replacement lawsuits in the United States, alleging that doctors expressed concerns to DePuy about a high failure rate before the recall.