Zimmer Knee Lawsuit Backlash

Zimmer Holdings, manufacturer of a knee replacement system that has been surrounded by a series of lawsuits since a significant number of patients developed serious complications due to Zimmer Knee failure, has fired back at legal firms who have contributed to the suits against them. The lawsuit states that defendants are making false claims about the product and defaming the company, leading to a loss in income for the corporation. They say that the assertions patients and lawyers are making about the failure rate of the product as well as the side effects and other defects are exaggerated or false. The company is also claiming that generic statements made by legal firms, such as “Zimmer knee problems” or “Zimmer NexGen failure”, are misleading because only a particular component has been shown to cause adverse effects.


Many legal experts don’t think this lawsuit will hold up in court, with some citing the First Amendment – the claims being made by the defendants may be protected under free speech, although Zimmer finds them defamatory.

Another issue cited by Zimmer lawyers is that defendants continue to claim that a recall of the product has taken place, while they maintain that there was no actual “recall”. The Food and Drug Administration, which is the government agency in charge of overseeing medical devices and medications among other things, cannot order a recall, but can only request that a company initiate one. There was, in fact, a recall of a NexGen component that was found to be improperly labeled with incorrect surgical instructions. Some lawyers say that even though only a component of the product was recalled, this is enough to consider it a recall.

The orthopedic company is seeking $75,000 and legal costs, as well as interest from the defendants. Whatever happens, it is clear that Zimmer will not go down without a fight.