February 16, 2015 — Stryker Orthopedics is facing a growing number of lawsuits as more people experience failure of the defective Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implants.
About 20,000 devices were implanted in patients before problems were discovered. Stryker is now facing about 5,000 lawsuits in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) and New Jersey state court.
One of those lawsuits was filed by Paul Orndorff, a 59 year-old man who was severely injured by a defective Rejuvenate hip implant.
After only a year and a half, he developed symptoms of metal poisoning — severe pain in his hip and groin, headaches, sinus issues, and ringing in his ears.
He told the St. Cloud Times:
“What that cobalt and chromium poisoning does is it poisons your blood, and it eats your tissue. … Basically, it just slowly starts attacking the muscle and soft tissue. It’s necrotic and dead.”
Orndorff now has a divot in the muscle around his left hip and an 18-inch scar from from three hip replacements. He has had five surgeries in the last five years. Fortunately, he is recovering with a new type of physical therapy involving an “anti-gravity” treadmill, which allows him to walk and exercise on as little as 20% of his body weight.
In November 2014, Stryker agreed to settle about 4,000 lawsuits involving the Rejuvenate and ABG II implants for about $1 billion, which works out to a base payment of $300,000 plus additional compensation for more serious expenses.
The Rejuvenate and ABG II were recalled in July 2012 due to unexpectedly high rates of fretting and corrosion. Many people have suffered from metal poisoning, catastrophic failure of their implants, and multiple revision surgeries.
Do I have a Stryker Hip Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by metal poisoning, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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