Today and yesterday, patients from Arizona, Connecticut and Ohio filed lawsuits against Zimmer Inc., the nation’s largest producer of orthopedic devices, for alleged defective hip implants manufactured and sold by Zimmer under the name Durom Cup.

William Kokoszka, a 54 year-old Connecticut resident, has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Zimmer Inc., for extreme pain and injuries due to a defective artificial hip manufactured by Zimmer.

In each case, the patient experienced excruciating pain following implantation of the Zimmer Durom Cup and all have, or soon will, be forced to undergo a painful revision surgery.

“At my age, I wanted to continue my active lifestyle, including spending time with my family, working with my charities, traveling with my husband, and being able to perform basic daily activities,” stated Renee Donnelly, age 74, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, one of the patients that filed a lawsuit.  “However, once I was implanted with the defective Durom Cup, my life became very limited.”

“I used to lead a very fulfilling and active lifestyle, traveling abroad, exercising regularly, volunteering, and working in my garden.  Now, my life is so limited due to the pain that the defective Durom Cup implant has caused me,” stated plaintiff Karen Hoggarth, age 54, of  Westerville, Ohio. “I can’t even walk up the stairs without pain.”

“The quality of life physically and mentally, today and in the future, for myself and my family has been permanently damaged by the defective Zimmer Durom Cup I received in 2006,” added William Kokoszka, another plaintiff from Meriden, Connecticut.  “Zimmer should be accountable for its negligence and disregard for the safety of patients implanted with the Zimmer Durom Cup.”

Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits

The Durom Cup was first sold in the nation in 2006 and was implanted in over 12,000 patients over a two year period.  The estimated failure rates of the Durom Cup ranges between 20% and 30%.

After the Durom Cup was introduced in the United States, Zimmer began receiving complaints from physicians that the artificial hip was failing.  “Despite warnings from leading orthopedic surgeons, Zimmer continued to aggressively market the Durom Cup in 2007 and into 2008, blaming surgeons for the growing failure rate,” stated attorney Wendy R. Fleishman of the national law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP.

Learn more about the Zimmer Durom Cup and defective hip implant lawsuits.