On June 12, 2015, a California jury found Wright Medical Technology, Inc. liable in the amount of $4.5 million to Alan Warner due to the pain and suffering he experienced after his Wright hip implant unexpectedly fractured after only three years of implantation. This was the first Wright hip lawsuit, out of over 1200 currently pending across the country, to have been tried before a jury, and the fact that it yielded a positive verdict for the plaintiff is encouraging. Mr. Warner’s case, heard by a 12-person jury in Los Angeles Superior Court, was tried by plaintiff’s attorneys Steve Vartazarian of the Vartazarian Law Firm and George McLaughlin of the Warshauer-McLaughlin Law Group.
Mr. Warner received his Wright hip implant in 2007, and it suddenly fractured just three years later in 2010 while he was standing in his kitchen. Following the fracture, Mr. Warner had to undergo 14 hip surgeries due to serious post-fracture dislocations and infections and consequently remains almost entirely home-bound. Breaking down the verdict, the jury explained that $4 million was to be allocated to Mr. Warner for his pain and suffering and that $500,000 was to be allocated to his wife for loss of consortium or full marital companionship.
While the verdict’s size is encouraging to all individuals injured by malfunctioning Wright hip implants, it must be remembered that the award amount was reached after the jury’s review of facts specific to Mr. Warner’s case and that not all Wright hip implant lawsuits will yield similarly-sized recoveries. Additionally, Wright plans to appeal the jury’s verdict, and the ultimate outcome of those proceedings remains unknown at this time.
Pope McGlamry has represented and obtained compensation for numerous clients injured by malfunctioning Wright hip implants and currently serves as co-lead counsel nationally for the Wright Conserve metal-on-metal hip litigation which has been consolidated as a multi-district litigation proceeding (MDL) before the Honorable William S. Duffey, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
If you or a loved one was injured by a malfunctioning Wright hip implant device, please contact Pope McGlamry at 877.285.7656 or submit a case evaluation online at www.popemcglamry.com to schedule a complimentary legal consultation. For continued up-to-date information and news regarding the Wright hip litigation, like the Pope McGlamry page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.
