Heavy Metal: Emerging Trends in Hip Implant Litigation

Abstract

When the latest generation of metal-on-metal hip implants arrived in the United States, orthopedic surgeons told patients the devices would last a lifetime. Sales representatives for manufacturers such as DePuy, Zimmer, and Biomet pitched metal hips as a miracle of modern science. A few years later, something awful happened. Metal hips started failing, and failing badly. Today, metal-on-metal hip implants are the worst medical device disaster in a generation, with up to 500,000 people injured. Many patients are undergoing costly and painful revision surgery to have their prostheses replaced. This article explores the recent wave of litigation over metal hip devices, looking at liability issues, failure rates, and mass tort legal strategies from a plaintiff's perspective.

Keywords: Metal Hip Implants, MDL, Mass Torts, Recall, Product Liability

JEL Classification: K41, K13