Appeals Court Reinstates Zimmer Biomet Design-Defect Suit

A federal appeals court has reinstated a woman’s design-defect suit against Zimmer Biomet over a faulty hip prosthesis that was implanted in her in 2011.

In September 2010, Marilyn Adams consulted with orthopedic surgeon Prodromos Ververeli, M.D. regarding her history of right hip pain. On January 18, 2011, Dr. Ververeli performed a total right hip replacement surgery on Adams. Dr. Ververeli replaced Adams’ right hip with a Zimmer hip prosthesis consisting of several separate pieces.

Following the surgery, Adams initially experienced no pain. However, in late 2012, Adams began to experience severe pain, which Dr. Ververeli helped treat.

In 2014, Adams continued to have hip issues.

In early January 2015, Dr. Ververeli ordered a CT scan, which showed a local adverse tissue reaction.

On January 30, 2015, Dr. Ververeli determined that Adams was suffering from right total hip metallosis (the deposition and build-up of metal debris in the soft tissues of the body) and an adverse tissue reaction.

Dr. Ververeli recommended hip revision surgery for Adams to replace the femoral head of her hip implant.

On February 12, 2015, Dr. Ververeli performed Adams’ hip revision surgery. During the surgery, Dr. Ververeli’s discovery regarding Adams’ implant called for a more drastic revision than initially anticipated. During surgery, Dr. Ververeli discovered that Adams’ implant had deteriorated and emitted metal shards into her hip.

After surgery, on February 12, 2015, Dr. Ververeli informed Adams of his intraoperative finding that her Zimmer implant had deteriorated and emitted metal shards into her hip.

On February 10, 2017, Adams brought a product liability action against Zimmer, the manufacturer of Adams’ former hip prosthesis.

In August 2018, a Pennsylvania U.S. District Court judge dismissed Adams’ claim because it missed Pennsylvania’s two-year statute of limitations. Adams appealed, arguing that the statute of limitations had not yet passed. Adams argued that the statute of limitations did not begin to run until her doctor actually performed her hip revision surgery.

On November 20, 2019, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the lower court’s 2018 ruling. In a two-to-one decision, the court ruled that a jury must decide if Marilyn Adams’ product liability suit against Zimmer, Inc. was filed too late.

Now, a jury will determine whether Adams was put on notice of her potential claim in January 2015 when her doctor suggested replacement surgery or in February 2015 when her doctor actually performed the surgery.