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Biomet Settlement

This week the federal multidistrict court approved a settlement of hundreds of lawsuits against Biomet, Incorporated. Biomet designed, manufactured, and marketed metal artificial  hip implants.  These consumer lawsuits were brought by individuals who had been implanted with Biomet Magnum or Biomet M2a 38 metal on metal hip implants that failed requiring surgical replacement. The initial payment by Biomet will be $56 million but there is no cap on the amount that may be paid for cases with extraordinary injuries. An individual with a Biomet hip that fails as a result of the metal on metal articulation of the hip will receive $200,000. Individuals who have undergone multiple revisions or surgeries or suffered complications from the revision surgery such as foot drop, embolism, stroke, or serious infection will have a right to have the case considered individually at a mediation.

DePuy ASR Settlement

This settlement comes after the November 2013 announcement of the 2.5 billion dollar settlement for the Johnson & Johnson DePuy ASR metal on metal hip implants. The DePuy ASR settlement involved 8 thousand cases.  There are thousands of lawsuits still pending around the United States against almost all of the manufacturers who sold metal on metal hip implants over the last ten years. It is now evident that the use of a metal on metal surface interface between the ball inserted on the top of the femur and the cup placed in the acetabulum of the pelvis was not a good idea because the fine metallic debris generated by the friction between the surfaces creates positively charged metal ions that are toxic to the tissues in the hip compartment.

Other Metal Hip Implant Lawsuits

There are currently large numbers of lawsuits also pending against Wright Medical, Smith & Nephew, Zimmer, and Stryker for hip implant failures caused by metal cobalt and chromium damaging tissues in the hip compartment. This damage to the tissues causes pain, fluid build up, pseudotumor, and loosening of the supportive tissues and muscles in the hip compartment. There were significant differences in the failure rates between manufacturers. The DePuy ASR appears to have the highest failure rates. The Biomet implants had a much lower failure rate than the DePuy ASR and so the compensation rate in the lawsuits is lower in many of the Biomet cases than in the DePuy ASR cases. However, since the Biomet settlement involves many fewer cases  a more individual assessment of the more serious cases will occur in the Biomet cases.

Who is Eligible for Settlement?

This Biomet settlement is not limited to cases that are already filed. It will include anyone who files a lawsuit before April 15, 2014 for revision of a Biomet Magnum or M2a 38. This settlement is not a class action and does not bar or limit the legal rights of those with Biomet hip implants that have not yet required surgical replacement. The settlement does not pay money to those who may have pain from their implant but have not yet had a surgical replacement of the implant.

My lawfirm is representing a large number of people who have suffered hip implant failure from products of all of these manufacturers and I serve on the Plaintiff Steering Committee for the Biomet Multidistrict Coordinated Litigation in South Bend, Indiana.

I am happy to answer questions about the Biomet hip implant settlement by other attorneys, doctors, or individuals who have had a Biomet hip implant who do not already have a lawyer representing them. I can be reached at 800-748-7115 or at joe@saunderslawyers.com

 

 

 

 

One Comment

  1. Gravatar for Shezad Malik MD JD
    Shezad Malik MD JD

    Great article Joe, keep up the pressure on Biomet Orthopaedics

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