The Profemur® Hip System is a modular hip implant device developed and distributed by Wright Medical that has fractured within patients at a frequency well above industry norms. A fracture event almost always requires painful, emergency revision surgery, and in many cases the revision includes an extended trochanteric osteotomy. The Profemur® device has been distributed and sold by Wright Medical Technology since 2003, and tens of thousands of these devices have been implanted within patients. To date, the FDA’s Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database has received over two hundred Profemur® fracture reports. Additionally, the JBJS Case Connector, published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, has issued a “watch” pertaining to modular hip implant devices. Most of these fractures have been attributable to micromotion, fretting and corrosion, which produce cracks within the modular neck that expand over time.
The Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPML) has not issued a transfer order coordinating cases involving the Profemur® defect, and a stipulation has been entered in the Wright Conserve Hip MDL that prohibits the transfer of Profemur® claims. Therefore, these cases have been litigated on an individual basis in federal and state courts throughout the country. Wright Medical’s principal place of business is in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the Shelby County Circuit Court has a local rule which provides for mass tort litigation by coordination of pretrial matters in similar cases. In 2014, plaintiffs alleging the Profemur® Hip System was defective began filing suit against Wright Medical in Shelby County, Tennessee. In the summer of 2014, these plaintiffs applied to the Court for Rule 28 coordinated proceedings. By August of 2014, the Court acknowledged the plaintiffs’ applications for Rule 28 coordinated proceedings, but has withheld ruling on the application. In October of 2014, the Court acknowledged that it was preparing to rule on the plaintiffs’ applications for coordinated proceedings. If the Court finds that plaintiffs’ cases should be coordinated, the Circuit Court of Shelby County will serve as the only coordinated litigation regarding Wright Profemur® Hip Systems in the country.
Contact Pope McGlamry
If you or a loved one has a Wright Profemur® Hip System that has fractured, you may have a personal injury case against Wright Medical. Contact Pope McGlamry for your free legal consultation online or at 877-265-7656.
