Biomet Hip Implant MDL Judge Sets Deadline

Biomet Hip Implant MDL Judge Sets Deadline

Introduction

Plaintiffs involved in the Biomet Hip implants lawsuits have time only until September 1 for direct filing of their cases in court; no direct filings will be allowed after that date. Recently, the court also released an order on August 24, wherein the presiding Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana asked the JPML to stop issuing conditional transfer orders to the MDL as of September 1.

Allegations include defects in Biomet’s M2a Magnum system of hip implant products. Plaintiffs blame the metal-on-metal design of the M2a Magnum system and the alleged tendency of the device to generate metal ions which cause metallosis in the adjoining tissue and tend to fail early.

Similar allegations are piling up in the federal courts across the U.S. against other hip implant manufacturers including Zimmer and Stryker. Zimmer has settled many of the lawsuits between 2016 and 2017, but as of August 2018, about 131 cases linked to complications due to Zimmer Durom Hip Cup Implant, are still pending in the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL No. 2158 (In Re: Zimmer Durom Hip Cup Products Liability Litigation), which is overlooked by Judge Susan D. Wigenton in the U.S. District for New Jersey. Lawsuits continue to be filed involving complications over Stryker Hip Replacement system centralized before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani under MDL No. 2768 – in Re: Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head Products Liability Litigation.