Injured due to Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Replacement Device? Call Graves McLain Now for a Free Consultation.

Graves McLain has successfully represented thousands of people in individual personal injury lawsuits, including patients who received defective hip implants.

Our office is located in Tulsa Oklahoma, but we represent clients throughout the country. We provide the personal attention and caring of a local firm, and bring the legal and financial resources of a national law firm to obtain justice for our clients.

Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Replacement Device Defective
The Zimmer Durom Cup is an orthopedic device used in total hip replacement surgeries. It was manufactured and sold by Zimmer Inc., the nation’s largest producer of implanted orthopedic devices.

During hip replacement surgery, damaged portions of the hip are replaced with smooth, durable artificial surfaces to allow the joint to function properly. The Zimmer Durom Cup is not cemented or screwed in place during implantation. Instead, it was designed to bond to the patient’s hipbone. The outside of the Durom Cup is porous and has been sprayed with a highly engineered substance that is intended to facilitate the cup’s acceptance by the human body. It is intended that the patient’s own bone will grow into the exterior shell of the cup.

Unfortunately, many patients are finding that their Zimmer Durom Cup implant resists bone growth.

Instead of adhering to the bone, the Durom Cup comes loose and/or pops free from the hip. This unintended result can cause moderate discomfort to extreme and devastating pain. Some patients have had to undergo revision surgery to remove the failed Durom Cup and replace it with a product that functions properly. In July 2008, Zimmer announced that it was “temporarily suspending” sales of the Durom Cup. However, Zimmer denied any “evidence of a defect” with the Durom Cup and refused to issue a recall notice in accordance with procedures established by the FDA. Zimmer brought the medical device back on the market in August 2008 and continued to sell it until December 2010.

Zimmer first sold the Durom Cup in the U.S. in 2006. It is estimated that more than 12,000 patients had this defective medical device implanted surgically.

Revision Surgery to Replace their Defective Zimmer Durom Cup

Based on the information we have received from our discussions with hip surgeons throughout the country, we estimate the failure rate of the Durom Cup to be between 20% and 30%. The true failure rate of the Zimmer Durom Cup may climb much higher in the coming years as doctors and their patients come to realize that their implants are gradually failing.

Lawsuits filed by Graves McLain patients allege the Zimmer Durom Cup is defective and fails due to certain design flaws. Specifically, the device is an all-metal implant. Several failure issues have emerged with all-metal implants, including:

• The device slips or the shell does not sit in place in the hip acetabulum and it resists bone growth
• The friction of metal-on-metal wear causes microscopic metal shavings to be released into the surrounding blood and tissue.
• This release of metal can cause elevated blood levels of cobalt and chromium, which can cause metallosis, an inflammatory reaction to the elevated levels of metal in the tissue and the blood.

What should I do if I have been forced to undergo revision surgery or told that my Zimmer hip implant is failing?

We recommend you consult with an attorney. You have the right to discuss with an attorney your legal rights and claims against Zimmer, as well as the legal deadlines that apply to filing a complaint.

At Graves McLain, we provide a free consultation without obligation. We recommend that you not sign any documents given to you by any Zimmer representative until after you have consulted with an experienced personal injury/mass tort law firm. You are not obligated to use an attorney to resolve any claims you have with Zimmer, but we believe your interests will be better protected by an independent law firm working for patients, not by a Zimmer representative.

It is in your best interest not to sign anything from Zimmer and to have an experienced law firm review any paperwork that you may receive as a Zimmer Durom Cup implant patient.

You May Be Entitled To Compensation.

The law in most states provides individuals with legal claims including the right to compensation for past injuries they suffered as a result of a medical device that is defective or fails to perform as advertised under certain circumstances. These damages may include:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Past and future lost earnings
• Other out-of-pocket expenses
• Damages for pain and suffering