Jury Awards $9.1M in Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant Lawsuit

This is a settlement for the Zimmer Durom Cup lawsuit.

Los Angeles, CA: A jury in Los Angeles has awarded a $9.1 million settlement to man who received a Durum Cup hip implant made by Zimmer. The defective products lawsuit alleged that Zimmer was aware of the design defect in its hip implant and was therefore negligent in designing it. The Durom cup implant allegedly causes bone and tissue damage that may lead to pain and replacement surgeries.

The Zimmer Durom Cup was implanted in some 13,000 patients before it was removed from the US market in 2008. Fifty-nine year old Gary Kline, from California, received the defective product in 2007 only to have it removed 15 months later. According to his suit, he endured two "traumatic surgeries"in 15 months that caused scar tissue and muscle damage.

Finding in the plaintiff' favor, the jury hearing Kline' case found Zimmer negligent in the design of the Durom Cup and that the company failed to warn about the product' defect.

The verdict includes about $153,000 in medical bills and $9 million in past and future noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering and emotional distress, he said. Although Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Amy Hogue had denied a request for punitive damages, Kline' lawyer said the jury awarded $3 million more than his client had asked.