Pending Lawsuit: Smith & Nephew Metal-on-Metal Hip Recall

In early June 2015, Smith & Nephew, a multinational medical equipment manufacturer, issued a medical device alert stating that certain groups of patients with the Birmingham Hip™ Resurfacing (BHR) implant system are at a higher risk of revision compared to the other groups.

The company has recently been hit with a large number of lawsuits by those affected.

The BHR system is a metal-on-metal artificial hip replacement system, made by Smith & Nephew, which has recently become fairly popular. At one time it was thought that metal-on-metal implants were the best option available. Their durability was supposed to be superior to the plastic or ceramic implants in use since the 1950s. Today that is not necessarily so. As it turns out, metal-on-metal hip device manufacturers have been confronted with design flaws, early failure rates, and harmful side effects/complications.

Smith & Nephew has reported that females implanted with a BHR metal device are at a higher risk of device failure, necessitating revision surgeries. Males with a BHR metal implant, size 48mm femoral head, are also at risk. Smith & Nephew plans to voluntarily recall its BHR size 46mm (and smaller) femoral heads along with corresponding acetabular and dysplasia cups in the near future.

If you have a Smith & Nephew BHR implant, contact the product liability attorneys at Slack Davis Sanger today. Our knowledgeable lawyers possess the skills needed to assist with your lawsuit during this difficult time.