Zimmer Biomet wins Trilogy hip implant suit

May 8, 2017 By Brad Perriello

A federal jury in Texas last week cleared Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) in a product liability lawsuit brought over its recalled Trilogy hip implant.

Plaintiff Martha Hardy sued Zimmer Biomet in March 2016, 4 years after a total right hip arthroplasty using the company’s Trilogy acetabular shell and Trilogy acetabular spike but before the devices were pulled from the market in June 2012 ( a full recall went into effect in September of that year, after the FDA sent Zimmer Biomet a warning letter).

“Unbeknownst to Plaintiff or her surgeon, the Plaintiff was being surgically implanted with “adulterated” artificial hip replacement parts as that term is used within the meaning of applicable federal regulations,” Hardy alleged in the suit.

The Trilogy implant was allegedly defective and incapable of bonding with Hardy’s hip bone, due to “improper pore size and/or porosity,” according to Hardy’s complaint.

The jury in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas disagreed, deciding May 5 that Zimmer Biomet was not liable for a manufacturing defect or of violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to court documents.

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