Stryker Reaches $1B Modular Hip Replacement Mass Tort Settlement

Los Angeles, CAA $1 billion settlement has been reached in a Stryker Rejuvenate Modular Hip and ABG II Modular hip stems mass torte representing thousands of plaintiffs. The plaintiffs all claim injuries and the need for additional surgeries resulting from failed Stryker hip implants.

The settlement with Howmedica Osteonics Corporation, that does business as Stryker Orthopaedics, resolves the claims of an estimated 3,000 people who were implanted with Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular hip stems. Over 2,100 of those plaintiffs are from New Jersey with a further 1,500 national claims. The settlement will pay a base award of $300,000 per failed implant, with additional compensation available to people who suffered complications during revision surgery, which is surgery done to remove the implant.

On July 3, 2012, Stryker voluntarily recalled the hip implants, and since then the number of personal injury lawsuits has climbed steadily. The defective implants can deteriorate, allegedly producing metal debris and metal ions leading to such symptoms as pain, swelling and tissue death, a complication known as metallosis. The Stryker hip implant recall made mention of a potential risk of "fretting and/or corrosion" of the metal components of the implants.

Although the Stryker Rejuvenate is not a metal-on-metal hip device, it has metal-on-metal components, which are believed to be responsible for the development of metallosis in some patients. According to reports, the Stryker Rejuvenate hip implant is linked to a high early failure rate, resulting in some patients having to undergo revision surgery.

The terms of the settlement, including a timeline that requires claimants to register by December 14, will see the first payouts in the summer of 2015.

Eligible claimants must be US citizens or residents and must have had both surgeries, the first to implant and the second to remove the device. The surgical procedures must have been done at a hospital in the US or a US military hospital. Additionally, the revision surgery had to occur before the November 3, 2014, the date of the settlement.