Stryker Nears Massive Payout to Settle Hip Implant Suits

Most people who needed revision surgery to replace Rejuvenate Modular-Neck hip stem or ABG II Modular-Neck hip stem have signed on to the settlement, according to Stryker.

By Nancy Crotti

Stryker Orthopaedics (NYSE:SYK) has notified courts in New Jersey and Minnesota that it is ready to disburse $1.4 billion in a product-liability settlement over metal-on-metal artificial hips.

Ninety-five percent of people who had revision surgery to replace the company's Rejuvenate Modular-Neck hip stem or ABG II Modular-Neck hip stem signed up for the settlement, Stryker said in a statement.

"The exact timing and amount of payments will depend on factors and circumstances specific to each claim," the statement said. "It is expected that payments will begin this July and the majority of payments will be made by the fall of 2015."

The Kalamazoo, MI-based company agreed in November 2014 to pay more than $1.4 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits.

Stryker recalled its Rejuvenate and ABG II artificial hips in July 2012, warning surgeons they could harm tissue around the hip and cause other health problems. New Jersey had more than 2,100 cases, and there are another 1,500-plus federal suits centralized in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, according to a report in the New Jersey Law Journal.

The settlement came after months of mediation and was announced simultaneously before U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank in St. Paul, and New Jersey Superior Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Hackensack.

The patient portion of this expensive saga may be winding down, but the hospital portion has just begun. A northern Arkansas hospital recently filed suit against Stryker, claiming it lost revenue over metal-on-metal hip implant issues.

Baxter Regional Medical Center wants Stryker to compensate it for revenue and profit losses because issues around Stryker hip devices took up time related to patient counseling and revision surgeries, disrupted the hospital's operations, and damaged its reputation. 

The hospital has not specified exactly how much it would like Stryker to cough up. 

Nancy Crotti is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.

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