Zimmer NexGen Knee Failure Lawsuit Filed

Dennis G. Parle filed a Zimmer NexGen knee failure lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the District of Arizona on December 27, 2011. Parle alleges that he suffered Zimmer knee failure, and requests damages for severe pain and bodily harm.

Company Orders Voluntary Zimmer Knee Recall

In his Zimmer knee lawsuit, Parle claims that he received Zimmer's NexGen knee implant on January 26, 2006. His NexGen joint replacement contained two parts – the NexGen MIS Tibial component and the Zimmer NexGen LPS High-flex femoral component – that were later subject to the voluntary Zimmer knee recall of 2010. In September of that year, Zimmer issued a voluntary Class II recall for NexGen TM Tibial Trays, and NexGen MIS Tibial Components and Modular Tibial Plates and Keels. In December 2010, the company voluntarily issued a second Zimmer knee recall, this one for defective parts found in several hundred NexGen LPS knee implants. In both cases, these components reportedly were subject to device loosening after surgery.

Plaintiff Cites Zimmer NexGen Knee Failure

After his surgery in 2006, the plaintiff alleges that he soon began to experience pain related to his knee implant. Parle claims that, as a result of his defective joint replacement, he was forced to undergo Zimmer knee revision surgery and receive a new implant. Parle's Zimmer lawsuit alleges that the manufacturer was, or should have been, aware of problems related to device loosening, and asserts that Zimmer exhibited corporate negligence by failing to notify the public of potential problems. Parle's lawsuit claims that the NexGen Total Knee Replacement System was "reasonably unsafe," and asks the court for damages to compensate for loss of movement, "severe and debilitating pain," and "serious bodily injury and harm."

Zimmer Knee Lawsuits Consolidated in MDL

In August 2011, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) voted to consolidate Zimmer NexGen knee failure lawsuits into federal multidistrict litigation (MDL). The MDL is headquartered in the Northern District of Illinois, and already numbered at least 100 lawsuits by November 2011.