Wright Medical’s Conserve Acetabular Hip and Conserve Hip Resurfacing System have been linked to the same complications affecting other metal-on-metal hip implant systems, including device fracture, implant loosening, metal ion poisoning and premature failure requiring revision surgery. Wright Conserve hip implants, like other metal-on-metal devices, are failing at a higher-than-expected rate and causing implant recipients pain, loss of mobility and other serious medical problems. If you or a loved one has suffered serious complications after receiving a Wright Conserve hip implant, contact a knowledgeable defective hip implant attorney today to discuss your legal options. You may have grounds to file a product liability lawsuit against the device manufacturing company in order to pursue financial compensation for your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages and other losses.
The FDA has yet to recall the Wright Conserve hip replacement system, but in January 2013, the agency did issue a notice about metal-on-metal hips, warning that “all artificial hip implants carry risks including wear of the component material.” According to the warning, metal particles shed from all-metal hip implants can be released into the bloodstream and the space around the implant, and “over time, the metal particles around some implants can cause damage to bone and/or tissue surrounding the implant and joint.” In response to concerns about the safety of metal-on-metal hip implants, the FDA has ordered the makers of these medical devices to provide proof that their implants are safe and effective before they can be approved for sale in the United States. The same year the FDA issued its hip implant warning, Wright Medical sold its OrthoRecon division to MicroPort Orthopedics, who continued to manufacture the hip replacement components.
Through three different settlement programs, Wright Medical has agreed to pay a total of $340 million to resolve close to 2,000 lawsuits filed over injuries from allegedly defective Conserve hip implants.
The Wright Medical Conserve Acetabular Hip and Conserve Hip Resurfacing System belong to a class of large-diameter, all-metal hip replacement systems designed to wear less and last longer than their plastic counterparts. The Conserve hip was approved via the FDA’s 510(k) fast-track approval process, which allows manufacturers to introduce new medical devices without conducting safety studies, so long as the devices are “substantially equivalent” to products already on the market. Similar to other hip replacement systems available in the United States, Wright’s Conserve hip is a metal-on-metal system, meaning the artificial hip is made from a cobalt-chromium alloy, and the device maker marketed its Conserve hip replacement system as able to last 25-30 years from the date of implantation. However, metal-on-metal hip devices have been plagued by problems occurring when the metal components rub against one another during normal use, which can cause metal debris to be shed into the bloodstream and tissue surrounding the implant, putting implant recipients at risk for debilitating complications like metal ion poisoning and adverse local tissue reactions possibly requiring additional surgeries to correct.
Compensation from a Wright Conserve hip implant lawsuit can help cover the cost of:
Many patients who received Wright Conserve hip implants to reduce pain and stiffness and improve their range of motion have ended up suffering serious complications occurring when the cobalt and chromium components of the artificial hip rub against one another, and in some cases, recipients of the Wright Conserve hip have required painful revision surgery to remove or replace the faulty implant. As a result of defective hip implant injuries, thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Wright Medical, accusing the company of manufacturing a defective device and failing to adequately warn patients and the medical community about the risk of the implants generating toxic metal debris. In February 2012, all Wright Conserve hip implant lawsuits filed in federal courts across the country were centralized in the Northern District of Georgia as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL), and in May 2012, all California state cases involving Wright Medical’s Conserve, Lineage and Dynasty hip implants were consolidated for coordinated pretrial proceedings. Through three different settlement programs, Wright Medical has agreed to pay a total of $340 million to resolve close to 2,000 lawsuits filed over injuries from allegedly defective Conserve hip implants, but even with these settlement programs, dozens of Wright Conserve hip implant lawsuits are still pending against Wright Medical.
