Zimmer Durom Cup MDL Could be Most Costly in History

The Zimmer Durom Cup is the component most often cited in Zimmer hip litigation, and it is theorized that as many as 12,000 plaintiffs could join the ever-growing Zimmer litigation. Settlements will depend on the amount of suffering and the nature of the side effect a plaintiff has had to endure as well as the number of patients involved.The Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant was first introduced in the United States in 2006, with a design that was supposed to avoid many problems associated with traditional hip replacement components. However, shortly after it was introduced, concerns emerged about a high number of Zimmer hip replacement recall failures involving the Durom Cup, where the component loosened and required Zimmer hip revision surgery.

No Zimmer hip settlements are expected until late 2011 or 2012 as the Zimmer hip MDL proceeds. While Zimmer’s own estimates in 2008 suggested that some doctors experienced failure rates as high as 5.7%, some claims have suggested that the between 20% and 30% of people may experience Zimmer Durom Cup hip problems.

Zimmer Hip Implant Failure Leads to More and More Lawsuits

Approximately 12,000 individuals had the Zimmer Durom Cup Zimmer hip implant failure between 2006 and 2008. While Zimmer’s own estimates in 2008 suggested that some doctors experienced failure rates as high as 5.7%, some claims have suggested that the between 20% and 30% of people may experience problems with a Zimmer Durom Cup hip.Zimmer press releases indicated that many U.S. surgeons had had success implanting the cup, but a subset of patients had experienced "elevated revision rates" since the product’s launch, contrasting with “excellent” clinical outcomes reported by surgeons in Europe.  The device is more often used in hip resurfacing procedures in Europe.

Zimmer Inc., recognizing the potential legal risk regarding the controversial hip, has set aside more than $40 million to cover the exposure resulting in the defective medical device.The class representative plaintiff in a class action Zimmer Hip Lawsuit against Zimmer,is Susan Wilkinson, who began experiencing pain and problems from her Zimmer hip implant only three months after she received it in April 2008. She subsequently had to undergo Zimmer hip revision surgery in 2009 to have the Durom Cup removed.In the United States, a temporary Zimmer Durom Cup recall was issued in July 2008,