In an order issued on February 6, Arkansas federal Judge Timothy Brooks denied summary judgment request filed by Smith & Nephew in a lawsuit involving its Synergy Stem artificial hip, finding questions of fact whether the hip system had a manufacturing and/ or compositional defect at the time it was implanted.
Judge Timothy Brooks refused to exclude the testimony provided by the plaintiff's expert witnesses and stated that the expert witnesses were qualified enough to have an opinion on metallurgy and damages. The plaintiff, John Myatt, underwent a hip replacement surgery in 2004, following a fatal car accident, and he was implanted with Smith & Nephew's Synergy Stem.
Smith & Nephew manufactures several hip replacement systems meant to increase mobility and improve durability. However, the company's metal-on-metal implants were linked to serious complications like metallosis. The company faces more than 500 hip implant lawsuits which are consolidated into federal litigation. Similar lawsuits are filed against other hip device manufacturers in the U.S. involving defendants Zimmer, Stryker, Biomet, Wright, and DePuy Synthes.
