Horizon Remains Cloudy for Hip Device

In July, Zimmer Holdings, the nation’s largest producer of orthopedic devices, halted sales of its Durom cup hip socket. The Zimmer device is used in hip replacement procedures, and has been on the market in the United States since 2006. The alarm had been sounded by Dr. Lawrence Dorr, a well-known orthopedic surgeon, after some of his patients with Durom cups experienced pain and needed additional surgery to replace the Zimmer devices. While Zimmer Holdings argues that there is no defect in the Durom cup, Dr. Dorr, colleagues of Dr. Dorr were also having problems with their patients who had Durom cup implants. Zimmer blames the problems on the special skill needed to implant the device. To address the situation, Zimmer plans to have specialized training for surgeons who want to use the Durom cup in hip replacements. After surgeons are trained, Zimmer plans to put the Durom cup back on the market in the United States. In the meantime, there may be hundreds of patients who need to have their Durom cup hip implants replaced.

If you, or someone that you know, has had hip surgery and problems with a Durom cup implant, you may be entitled to a legal remedy and should contact an attorney to discuss your rights under the law.