Hemmingway, SC"After all I've been through with these Zimmer NexGen Knee defects, I want compensation for something," says Esda. "The LawyersandSettlements attorney, Howard Nations, is handling my case so I probably qualify for a lawsuit."
Esda received a Zimmer NexGen CR-Flex Porous Femoral component knee replacement in January of 2003, and she had a second knee just four months later. "Both my knees were rubbing bone on bone from overuse," says Esda, whose job entailed walking on cement floors in a textile plant for 33 years.
"I don't remember having a good day with either legs since my surgery," Esda says. "Sometimes I have to wrap them up to stop them from hurting. After each knee replacement surgery, I had home care for about six weeks, and after that, my orthopedic surgeon sent me to rehab—so it took several months to deal with both knees. But my pain never subsided.
"I can remember the day clearly, just before I went into surgery to have my first Zimmer NexGen replacement: my orthopedic surgeon told me that I was going to have great knees. I was one of the first lucky ones to have these special and great knee replacements because they just came out in 2002. He told me that I would have brand-new legs thanks to Zimmer."
Esda's surgeon had no idea at the time that Zimmer NexGen knees were defective. In fact, Esda believes there was no error or malpractice on the part of her surgeon, even though she isn't seeing him anymore.
"The last time I saw my original surgeon, both my legs were killing me, no matter if I was standing or lying down," Esda adds. "I explained to him that I have pain 24/7 from both knee replacements and sometimes it is paralyzing, but the last time I saw him was the last time, literally. He more or less said that I have to live with it, but just because someone else had knee replacements and could get up and walk doesn't mean that I could. I never saw him again.
"When I got mad at that doctor, I got all my medical records and all my x-rays—and now they are with my attorney, Mr. Howard Nations."
Esda saw another orthopedic surgeon, who confirmed that both her surgeries were flawless, but the Zimmer NexGen knees were not. "The second orthopedic surgeon told me that the problems were the knee replacements and not the surgeon's work," she explains. "He felt the mobility in my knees loosen when he moved them side to side. 'You need mechanical work done on them,' he said, meaning revision surgery. He took the bottom of my right leg and held it, then he tried to move it in both directions and could feel it was loose. Same with my left leg.
"Sure, they could go back in there with revision surgery but this first surgeon left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm afraid of going through another surgery. I've had too much trauma. And I'm afraid that revision surgery won't make my knees better. I'd have to think long and hard before I let someone go back in there and destroy my legs. These Zimmer NexGen knees are bad.
"My left leg flips back on me and my right leg just gives way. I take a handbasket full of painkillers, including injections in my hip. The way I walk now is wearing and tearing on my hip joints—these knees have affected my whole body. To this day, eight years later, I have to walk with a cane; I don't get to go to the shopping mall; I don't really go anywhere. Even grocery shopping is a task for me. And of course I haven't worked since my legs went down with these knee surgeries. Some days my feet feel like they are cement blocks because my NexGen knees are so heavy.
"I'm on disability and I've had no active life since I had my knees replaced. I was in my late 40s when I lost my quality of life—when I had my knees done it put my life on hold.
"I got my paperwork in the mail from my attorney, Howard Nations, which included a copy of my Zimmer knee identification notice—apparently they have numbers like a barcode when they take these medical devices out of the box in the operating room. And the law firm has taken my statements by telephone, so after they receive my paperwork, we take it from there.
"After all that I've been through, I want compensation from Zimmer. And an apology from Zimmer would help."
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