Zimmer Hip Replacement Lawsuit Filed Over Durom Cup Problems

An Illinois lawsuit was filed on April 8, 2009, on behalf of 42 people who allege that they suffered severe pain and required additional medical treatment as a result of a hip replacement failure caused by the defective Zimmer Durom Cup.

The Zimmer hip replacement lawsuit, which was filed in the St. Clair County Circuit Court, alleges that Zimmer failed to conduct adequate testing of their Durom Cup system before allowing doctors to implant the device in patients and failed to warn about the high risk that the components may fail, causing painful and debilitating injury.

The Zimmer Durom Cup was first introduced in the United States in 2006, as a more advanced form of an artificial hip. The hip resurfacing system is designed out of a single piece of material and is designed to avoid problems associated with traditional hip replacement components, such as instability, limited range of motion and wear of the bearing.

However, in April 2008, concerns emerged about a high number of Zimmer hip replacement failures involving the Durom Cup, where the component loosened and required revision surgery.

After initially dismissing the complaints and suggesting that the surgeons were at fault for the failures, Zimmer issued a Durom Cup recall in July 2008. They suspended sales of the product until revisions could be made to the warning label and additional training and instructions could be developed for surgeons about the special surgical techniques needed to reduce the risk of problems.

Approximately 12,000 patients had the Zimmer Durom Cup system implanted between 2006 and 2008, before these issues were addressed. According to Zimmer’s own estimates, some doctors have experienced failure rates as high as 5.7%, and experts have suggested that the rate of hip replacement cup loosenings could increase as time passes after the surgery.

All 42 of the plaintiffs who filed the Zimmer Durom hip lawsuit in Illinois allege that they experienced cup failures during the months following their routine hip replacements, leaving them in constant pain and requiring additional medical treatments and surgeries.

The complaint alleges that Zimmer placed thousands of patients at risk of serious injury, anxiety, medical problems or even death.

In January 2009, Zimmer Holdings, Inc. indicated during a fourth-quarter earnings report that at least $69 million has already been set aside in reserves to cover payments for potential Zimmer Durom hip replacement lawsuit verdicts and settlements that they may need to pay to patients.