Five Stryker Accolade Lawsuits Filed for Metal Toxicity

June 2, 2014 — Law360 reports that Stryker Corp. is facing at least five new lawsuits alleging that the Accolade hip replacement is prone to corrosion, fretting, failure, and metallosis (metal poisoning).

Plaintiffs allege that the Stryker Accolade TMZF hip stem and LFIT anatomic V40 femoral head are defective. The lawsuits were filed in the same court where Stryker is facing at least 822 lawsuits involving the Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck hip replacements, which were recalled after they were linked to high rates of corrosion and fretting.

In 2009, Stryker issued a Class II recall for the Accolade TMZF femoral stem. This is a one-piece implant that is a combination of titanium, iron, molybdenum, and zirconium. In April 2012, Stryker recalled the Accolade femoral stem used with the MITCH TRH modular-head/acetabular cup, after post-marketing surveillance found high rates of revision surgery.

Plaintiffs allege that soon after Stryker recalled the ABG II and Rejuvenate, the company stopped using the TMZF titanium and started using a different titanium alloy.

In recent years, thousands of lawsuits have been filed by people who were injured by metal-on-metal hip replacements. When metal parts grind together, they can shed toxic debris around the hip joint. This can cause local inflammatory reactions, chronic pain, and dislocation of the hip. Long-term side effects may include metallosis (metal poisoning) and systemic reactions in other areas of the body.