Many Zimmer Knee Replacement Plaintiffs Complain of Loosening

Washington, DCAmongst the various lawsuits recently filed in relation to Zimmer Knee Replacement, a common thread emerges: the loosening of the device, causing pain and instability. The need by some plaintiffs to also require revision surgery so soon after an initial procedure can also impact a job, not to mention the costs associated with a second surgery while a patient, quite possibly, is still in the throes of trying to figure out how to pay for the first…

One of the more recent entries in the NexGen lawsuit portfolio is that of a woman who filed an action toward the end of the year in New York Northern District Court (Case No. 5:2013cv01511 and filed December 6 of last year). According to court records, the plaintiff received her Zimmer NexGen LPS-Flex prosthetic knee in 2009. Not long after, the plaintiff alleges the implant loosened and caused serious pain.

Subsequently, the plaintiff had to have her Zimmer NexGen Knee Replacement device replaced in 2012.

That’s three years - and the Zimmer knee is alleged to have failed well within that window. Historically, artificial knees and hips are designed to last, at minimum, 15 years with normal use. However, more recently developed devices thought to be more robust and offering advantages over older, more traditional products are not proving to be any better than the devices they were designed to replace.

If anything, the newer devices brought to market by various manufacturers are in fact proving, in many cases, to be worse…

Another female plaintiff filed a NexGen lawsuit in December in Michigan (case No. 2:2013cv14927, filed December 3, 2013, Michigan Eastern District Court). In court documents the plaintiff alleges she received her Zimmer NexGen Knee Replacement in her right knee in 2010, only to experience complications shortly thereafter.

This plaintiff also required revision surgery in 2012 to have her Zimmer knee replacement problems addressed. That’s two years for this plaintiff v. 15 years for a more traditional knee replacement device.

In November, a plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging problems with Zimmer knee implants (Case No. 2:2013cv00954, filed November 11, 2013 in Texas Eastern District Court). In that case, the plaintiff claims to have received his Zimmer NexGen in 2011, only to experience a progressive loosening of his NexGen Knee. This caused the plaintiff severe pain. It is not known if this patient required or underwent revision surgery.

However, a trend appears to emerge that patients having received Zimmer NexGen Knee products have often encountered problems unlike anything experienced with older, more traditional devices. Some plaintiffs have alleged their devices have not lasted 15 months, let alone the 15 years most would expect an artificial knee to last.

Surgery to implant an artificial knee requires time off work and substantial opportunity for healing. Patients faced with a second surgical procedure to replace a failed Zimmer knee may well be forgiven for undertaking legal action to seek compensation for added medical bills and lost wages as the result of a second surgical procedure so soon after the first…