On November 29, 2011, lawyers from Pope McGlamry filed a petition to the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL”) to consolidate cases involving the defective Wright Conserve Hip Implant System. Currently, lawyers from Pope McGlamry are evaluating and filing cases involving the defective Wright Conserve Hip Implant System across the United States.
What is an MDL?
The lawsuit consolidation procedure, known as an MDL, is commonly formed when there are multiple lawsuits involving common underlying facts. Lawsuits are sent to MDLs in order to efficiently process cases that could involve hundreds or thousands of plaintiffs, in dozens of different federal courts, which all share common issues. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decides whether cases should be consolidated under MDL and, if so, where to transfer the cases. An MDL allows lawsuits associated with a specific product to be coordinated under one judge for pretrial litigation to avoid duplicative discovery, inconsistent rulings and to conserve the resources of the parties, witnesses and the court. When lawsuits are consolidated as an MDL, each retains its own identity. If the MDL process does not resolve the cases, they are transferred back to the court where they originated for trial.
Wright Conserve Similar to DePuy Hip Devices
Pope McGlamry’s petition to the U.S. Judicial Panel on MDL alleges that the Wright Conserve Hip Implant System is similar to the DePuy ASR and DePuy Pinnacle hip devices. The DePuy ASR hip litigation and the DePuy Pinnacle litigation were both eventually transferred to MDLs. The DePuy ASR hip litigation was transferred to an MDL on December 7, 2010, and DePuy Pinnacle hip implant litigation was transferred to an MDL on May 23, 2011.
How are they similar?
Like the DePuy ASR and DePuy Pinnacle hip implant devices, the Wright Conserve Hip Implant System is failing prematurely. With the advancement of medical technology, hip implants should last for at least 15 years, but data indicates that the Wright Conserve Hip Implant System often fails within just a few years of implantation. For instance, data from a 2009 implant registry run by the Australian Orthopaedic Association found that one component, the Wright Conserve Hip Implant System, had a revision rate of 11.2% just three years after implantation. This means that approximately one out of every nine people who received the Wright Conserve Hip Implant System experienced severe problems within a few years after their hip replacement.
How was this hip device approved by the FDA?
Like so many other problematic medical devices, the Wright Conserve Hip Implant System was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) under its 510(k) clearance protocols. A 510(k) approval is permitted for devices that are substantially equivalent to devices already on the market. Unfortunately, 510(k) approvals do not require human clinical trials, so problems caused by devices approved this way often do not become apparent until they have been on the market for several years. The November 29, 2011, petition to the U.S. Judicial Panel on MDL alleges that since Wright’s Conserve Hip Implant System received 510(k) approval from the FDA, there have been over 200 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA concerning the Conserve Hip Implant System.
Contact Pope McGlamry
If you or a loved one had a Wright Conserve Hip Implant System implanted and have suffered complications, or experienced a hip replacement failure requiring revision surgery, you may be entitled to recover significant damages from the defective product manufacturer, Wright Medical Technology.
