Zimmer sued by Pa. man over allegedly defective artificial knee implant

A Montgomery County man has filed a products liability lawsuit against an Indiana-based manufacturer of orthopedic implants over allegations that an artificial knee made by the defendant failed while inside the plaintiff’s body.

Ron Hyman, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., filed suit late last week in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia over allegations that Zimmer Inc., and subsidiaries Zimmer Holdings Inc. and Zimmer US Inc., were negligent when they put on the market an artificial knee device that was surgically implanted into the plaintiff’s leg, and which broke, moved, failed, ruptured and/or cracked while Hyman was walking in the spring of 2012.

The plaintiff ended up having to undergo a follow-up surgery in April of that year to replace the faulty device, the complaint states.

The lawsuit says that since the failure of the defendant’s product, Hyman has experienced substantial pain and stiffness in his knee, which affects his ability to conduct daily activities and to operate his business.

“Following the replacement of the Zimmer product, Plaintiff continues to have trouble with his knee,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit says that as the makers and distributors of the product, Zimmer knew or should have known that unless the device was carefully and properly designed, manufactured and fabricated, it would constitute an “unreasonable risk of substantial bodily harm to those who used it for the purposes for which it was made and intended.”

The suit contains counts of strict products liability, negligence and breach of warranties.

The complaint accuses the defendant of failing to exercise reasonable care in the design, testing, manufacture, sale and/or certification of the knee implant, and it says that in connection with the sale of its products, the company warranted that its reconstructive orthopedic knee implant was without defect, was of good and merchantable quality and was safe for its intended use.
As a result of the defendants’ actions, Hyman suffered personal injuries, experienced great pain and suffering, required additional knee revision surgery and incurred medical expenses.

The plaintiff also has additional scar tissue in his right knee and required a “lengthy and protracted” rehabilitation preventing him from performing his activities of daily living, the complaint states.

Hyman seeks an unspecified amount of damages for past and future medical expenses and loss of earning capacity, as well as general damages for physical and emotional pain and suffering.

He also seeks litigation costs and attorney fees.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Kenneth S. Saffren of the Jenkintown, Pa. firm Saffren & Weinberg.

 

The federal case number is 2:14-cv-01388-SD.