Problems with Zimmer Hip Implants Lead to Lawsuits
As Americans age, we’re finding out that our bodies aren’t performing the way that we’re used to. Of course we don’t have the same spring in our step as teenagers, but in many cases, joints that are needed to go about the normal activities of daily life are beginning to wear. This is because as a Nation, we are living long and more active lives.
A hip replacement is designed to allow the natural use of the legs during walking, sitting, or standing, allowing for more natural, comfortable movement. If you or someone you love has had a hip replacement procedure, read on for recall news about the Zimmer hip implant.
As we age, activities that we once took for granted become what can be a painful chore. Some pain and soreness is natural. As our body ages, it does not function in its peak condition. But for many, the pain associated with standing, walking, or sitting becomes unbearable because of irreversible damage to their hip joint. What were once active people become couch potatoes, unable to do even the simplest activities. And it is for these people that Zimmer hip implants targeted, to give them back some of their motion and independence, to allow them to live full and active lives.
Hip replacements have revolutionized the way that many Americans live their daily lives, and has allowed a great number to do so without pain. But because they are a mechanical replacement, they are known to fail, often within ten years. This means that at an even older age, a patient must go through another replacement surgery. The Zimmer hip implant was designed to change that. It was targeted at younger patients as a way to get the benefits of a hip replacement, but with a long lasting implant that would not need to be replaced, so that they could avoid further surgery.
The claim by the Zimmer hip implant representatives that it is long lasting have not at all stood the test of time. In one test clinic, fully twelve percent of patients receiving this implant needed to have their replacement replaced within two years. This means that not only did the implant fail, it did so quickly, meaning that patients told they would need only one surgery faced the fast prospect of another, and possibly of a third within their lifetime.
The Zimmer Durom Company denies that their Zimmer hip implant is prone to failure. But in their internal testing, seven percent of patients needed the replacement replaced within two years. This is still an astounding rate of failure. It was enough for the company to pull the product in July 2008. If you have had a hip replacement, ask your doctor if it’s a Zimmer hip implant. If it was, and you have problems, you could be able to sue.
