Stryker Rejuvenate Metal Hip Implant Cases Moving Forward in Federal Court
On July 5, 20013 Minneapolis United State District Judge Donovan Frank filed an order notifying attorneys that he plans to schedule the first federal hearing on the Stryker Rejuvenate in August 2013. All Rejuvenate cases in U.S. federal court have been transferred to Judge Frank for pretrial management.
There are a large number of lawsuits that are moving forward in the New Jersey state court where Stryker is located before Judge Brian Martinotti. So far there have been no jury trials involving the Stryker Rejuvenate metal hips that were recalled last year.
The Stryker Rejuvenate was recalled in 2012 as a result of high failure rates from metallosis in patients. Metallosis is an injury to the tissues in the hip from chromium and cobalt metal particles leaching from the metal hip implant into the tissue and blood of patients. Many Rejuvenate implant patients have had to have revision surgery to remove the implants and replace them with a different product.
The lawsuits are individual cases not class actions so each injured patient who wants to make a claim needs an individual attorney to file their lawsuit. It is important to get prompt legal advice and representation because there are time limits for filing claims. Missing these time limits can cause an injured individual to be left out of any settlement that occurs in these cases. So far, I am not aware of any Stryker Rejuvenate lawsuits that have been settled by Stryker. However, Stryker has arranged to pay co-copays and help uninsured patients pay for revision surgeries through their insurance adjusting firm called Broadspire. Patients should be aware that filing a claim with Broadspire will not protect their legal rights for full compensation or to participate in a larger settlement. Filing a claim with Broadspire also will not satisfy the requirement that a person’s lawsuit be filed within a certain period of time called a statute of limitations. This time period for the statute of limitations varies according to the facts of each case and the state in which the Stryker patient lives or has surgery.
Our law firm, Saunders & Walker, is currently filing lawsuits to protect the rights of injured Stryker patients and to be sure that they do not miss the statute of limitations.