Zimmer Hip Replacement Lawsuits Allowed Centralization

Introduction

In a transfer order issued on October 3, 2018, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) declared to consolidate and centralize all federal Zimmer Hip replacement lawsuits before one judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings in the Southern District of New York to be overseen by U.S. District Judge Paul A Crotty.

In June, a set of plaintiffs requested JPML to centralize the lawsuits over Zimmer's VerSys, M/L Taper, and M/L Taper with Kinectiv Technology. Zimmer opposed the centralization in a motion filed last month and argued that the creation of a formal MDL is unnecessary.

At least 28 product liability cases are pending against Zimmer-Biomet, Inc. in different U.S. District Courts over design defects of the company's metal-on-metal hip implant components. All the lawsuits raise similar complaints that the hip replacement system is defectively designed and tend to fret and corrode, leaving metal pieces inside the patients' tissue and blood, forcing the patients to eventually get the device removed. The MDL 2158 (In Re: Zimmer Durom Hip Cup Products Liability Litigation) overlooked by Hon. Susan D. Wigenton in the District of New Jersey is overlooked by Hon. Susan D. Wigenton in the District of New Jersey.

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