Smith & Nephew BHR Hip Implant News. Smith & Nephew, is a global metal hip and knee manufacturing company based in England. Smith & Nephew is exposed to many personal injury and product liability lawsuits over side effects of its Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) and Total Replacement metal-on-metal hip replacement systems.
Most Smith & Nephew hip implant patients were told that the metal on metal hip would last many years, if not for their entire lifetime.The lawsuits all have similar allegations that the metal on metal hip devices are plagued by the premature failure of company’s controversial metal-on-metal hip implant devices, which causes severe pain, limited movement and the need for early and risky revision surgery.
Injured patients have reported higher-than-normal adverse events with several Smith & Nephew hip implant models. In 2017, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) combined several lawsuits over Smith & Nephew’s Birmingham Hip Resurfacing hip implants in the District of Maryland federal court.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered that all product liability lawsuits over the Total Birmingham Hip Implant, another Smith & Nephew hip device be centralized before U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake in the District of Maryland.
Smith & Nephew issued an urgent field-safety notice on its BHR implants in 2015, warning the hip devices increased the risk of dislocation, fractures and other complications that could require invasive corrective surgery. Due to a high rate of side effects after the Birmingham hip resurfacing procedure, Smith & Nephew subsequently withdrew the system from the marketing in the U.S. market and issued a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing recall.
This is not the first ride at the rodeo for Smith & Nephew, the UK-based company recalled its R3 Acetabular Hip Systems in 2012 and its Modular SMF and Modular Redapt Revision in 2016.
Recently an injured California man filed a claim against Smith & Nephew indicating that the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) system can fail prematurely, and cause metal blood poisoning and the formation of pseudotumors.
The surgeon who performed the urgent replacement found that there was evidence of metallosis, caused by the release of cobalt and chromium metal particles into the bloodstream. Both metals are used in the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant.
Failure of the Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing implant also caused the development of a pseudotumor in the woman’s hip, which damaged her hip muscles.
If you think you may have Smith & Nephew Birmingham Resurfacing metal hip device and are experiencing pain caused by metal corrosion or have suffered premature hip failure requiring full revision and emergency care, please call Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm based in Dallas, Texas at 214-390-3189.