Personal Injury Law Specialist in Phoenix, Arizona

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Feb. 22, 2012): A Phoenix man filed a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court against Wright Medical Technology, Inc. and Wright Medical Group, Inc. after needing emergency surgery following a sudden catastrophic fracture of the titanium modular neck of the Wright ProFemur Total Hip System as he was dressing for work last July.

Phoenix attorney Stephen Leshner and defective hip lawyer Joseph H. Saunders of Saunders & Walker, PA in Pinellas Park, FLA. filed the complaint against the Tennessee-based company on behalf of Dale Purcell, who had the device implanted in June 2005 during a total left-hip replacement.

The Wright ProFemur Total Hip System is comprised of three separate components which are assembled during surgery: a femoral head, a modular neck and the femoral stem.

There is a design defect in the femoral implant that causes it to fracture just below the neck Leshner said. When it fractures, you’re on the floor, in extreme pain and you have to have emergency surgery immediately. The nine-count complaint, which charges negligence, design defect, manufacturing defect, failure to warn and fraudulent misrepresentation, seeks unspecified general, special and punitive damages.

One minute I’m standing there getting dressed for work and the next I’m on the ground, Parcell said. At first I thought there was an earthquake that knocked me down, but then the pain hit and I couldn’t move my leg.

Purcell, 57, underwent revision surgery at Chandler Regional Medical Center on July 7, 2011 when surgeons had to remove the fractured fragments of the ProFemur Z titanium modular femoral neck and noted some mild corrosion at the site of the fracture, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, the titanium modular neck used in Mr. Parcell fractured and broke very near the femoral stem, leaving a broken portion of the titanium neck wedged inside the stem. The fracture of the modular neck adapter caused failure of the system, requiring corrective surgery, and made it extremely difficult to extract the fragment.

The complaint points out that studies have shown that modular neck adapters made from titanium alloy, such as the ProFemur modular neck adapter are more likely to suffer fretting corrosion and fatigue fracture than those made from cobalt-chromium.

A 2009 report by the Australian Orthopaedic Association showed that the Wright ProFemur Z femoral stem had a high failure rate requiring approximately 11.2 percent of all patients receiving the implant to need revision surgery.

According to the complaint, in 2009, Wright Medical changed the material in the ProFemur Hip System Modular Necks from titanium to cobalt chrome alloy, but the company took no corrective action in the form of a recall or even an announcement of warning to the medical community or to the public at large concerning its decision to switch from titanium modular neck adapters to cobalt chrome adapters.

At all relevant times, Defendants knew, or should have known, that the Device which included a titanium modular femoral neck was more prone to fatigue fracture and failure than a device made with a cobalt chromium modular neck, according to the complaint.

Leshner said this is the first of several lawsuits he expects to file on behalf of individuals who suffered similar failures of the hip-replacement device.

The metal-on-metal hip implant debacle appears to have claimed another casualty — a metal hip socket liner marketed by the British firm Smith & Nephew, which said it was pulling the product from the market.

We regularly review the effectiveness of our products and are not satisfied with the clinical results of this component, an optional metal liner in the R3 Acetabular System, a company press release said.

Annual revision rates in patients with the device were 1.6%, a Smith & Nephew official told Reuters, well above the 1% rate deemed acceptable by Britain’s drug and device evaluation center.

The company said 7,700 of the liners had been implanted since it was introduced in 2009.

In 2010, the DePuy unit of Johnson & Johnson recalled a metal-on-metal system for similar reasons. Marketing of others has been quietly terminated and the popularity of metal-on-metal systems has plummeted to less than 5% of the hip replacement market, by some estimates.

Metal-on-metal hip implants generally have been linked to high rates of revision surgery and systemic complications, apparently because of component erosion and leaching of metal ions both locally and into circulation. The FDA is currently considering whether to regulate the devices more strictly.

Phoenix, Arizona hip product liability attorney Stephen I. Leshner is currently handling Smith & Nephew hip replacement cases, as well as cases involving DePuy ASR, DePuy Pinnacle, and Wright Medical metal-on-metal hip replacement failure case.

The metal-on-metal hip implant debacle appears to have claimed another casualty — a metal hip socket liner marketed by the British firm Smith & Nephew, which said it was pulling the product from the market.

We regularly review the effectiveness of our products and are not satisfied with the clinical results of this component, an optional metal liner in the R3 Acetabular System, a company press release said.

Annual revision rates in patients with the device were 1.6%, a Smith & Nephew official told Reuters, well above the 1% rate deemed acceptable by Britain’s drug and device evaluation center.

The company said 7,700 of the liners had been implanted since it was introduced in 2009.

In 2010, the DePuy unit of Johnson & Johnson recalled a metal-on-metal system for similar reasons. Marketing of others has been quietly terminated and the popularity of metal-on-metal systems has plummeted to less than 5% of the hip replacement market, by some estimates.

Metal-on-metal hip implants generally have been linked to high rates of revision surgery and systemic complications, apparently because of component erosion and leaching of metal ions both locally and into circulation. The FDA is currently considering whether to regulate the devices more strictly.

Phoenix, Arizona hip product liability attorney Stephen I. Leshner is currently handling Smith & Nephew hip replacement cases, as well as cases involving DePuy ASR, DePuy Pinnacle, and Wright Medical metal-on-metal hip replacement failure case.

Stephen I. Leshner, a Phoenix plaintiffs personal injury, accident, medical malpractice, and mass tort product liability attorney has been named to the Arizona Super Lawyers list as one of the top attorneys in Arizona for 2012. This is the fifth consecutive year Steve has been so honored. No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in Arizona are selected by Super Lawyers.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice areas.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines in leading city and regional magazines across the country. Super Lawyers magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, go to superlawyers.com.

On March 19, 2010, the National Business Institute will be presenting a seminar on Handling the Auto Injury Claim in Phoenix, Arizona. The seminar is designed for attorneys who represent plaintiffs and defendants in car, truck, bicycle and motorcycle personal injury cases. Steve Leshner is one of the seminar speakers, and will be presenting the topic “Take the Case to Trial”. As an Arizona State Bar BoardCertified Specialist in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation, a former President of the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, a Arizona “Super Lawyer” and a Life Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, with a history of having tried lawsuits in Arizona for over 30 years, Steve is particularly well qualified to present this topic.