Widow Launches Zimmer Hip Lawsuit

Akron, OHThe image is unsettling: the ghostly X-ray of an artificial hip, with the cup still mounted in place to the bone, and the prosthetic ball grossly dislocated and floating well above and beyond where it should have been. The pain and debilitation to the patient, needless to say, is palpable. Little wonder that both studies and prevailing opinion suggest that new-age artificial hips, such as the Zimmer hip, are not all they're cracked up to be.

Not surprisingly are those who have launched a Zimmer hip lawsuit.

Penny L. Cloud is one such plaintiff. A resident of Ohio, Cloud filed a lawsuit last October on behalf of her late husband Robert, who was a Zimmer hip replacement patient. Cloud, according to court documents, received a Zimmer Durom Cup hip replacement in March 2007, only to suffer failure of the joint within months.

Cloud underwent revision surgery in October 2010. He died later that month, and his widow in her Zimmer hip lawsuit alleges Cloud died as the result of the revision surgery—after which he suffered from acute lung injury, pneumonia, renal failure and heart failure.

Interestingly, Cloud—who became aware of the high failure rate associated with the Zimmer Durom Cup only after receiving the device—had instructed his surgeon to preserve the problematic components related to the Zimmer Inc. prosthetic hip.

The Zimmer Durom Cup is part of a crop of new-age medical devices that feature metal-on-metal, amongst other advancements over older, more traditional devices. However, metal-on-metal hips have been besieged with problems, ranging from premature wear, to the introduction of metal toxicity to surrounding tissue and even the bloodstream, to ultimate catastrophic failure of the joint.

Manufacturers introducing an updated medical device that is similar to one already on the market are not required, under current guidelines maintained by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to conduct intensive clinical testing—although this may change over the long term.

A recent Australian study found that, for all the hype and in view of a high failure rate, the new age implants are not necessarily better than traditional devices and, in some cases, not as good.

The American Association of Retired Persons, better known as AARP, gave the Australian study some play in a recent issue of the AARP blog. AARP, needless to say, is sensitive to any issue affecting the growing number of retired Americans and those nearing retirement. The aging baby boomers, historically more physically active than the previous generation, require greater mobility deeper into their retirement in order to pursue a growing number of passions. In increasing amounts of disposable income to fuel those passions is another reason why retailers who cater to retirees want to keep their constituents healthy and active.

It appears, for many, new-age artificial hips such as Zimmer defective hip replacements, just aren't cutting it.

One responder to the AARP blog said as much: "glenwan," who identified himself as hailing from Buckeye, Arizona, and writing on December 27 of last year, noted that he had his first hip replacement in 1975 "and it is still doing great. It's all plastic and lots of glue…"

Zimmer Inc. originally blamed the high failure rate on poor surgical technique, and updated its surgical procedures while maintaining the device is safe and effective.