Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
For people with serious knee problems, knee implants promise improved mobility and less pain. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), about 700,000 knee replacement surgeries were performed, with about 5% of Americans over the age of 50 having at least one knee implant.
While knee implants can make life easier, defective knee implants have been linked to serious complications. In the past few years, a number of knee implant recalls have affected many patients in Hollywood and across the country. Some patients have launched their own product liability claims in South Florida and Hollywood against manufacturers of the devices.
What Can Go Wrong with Knee Implants
Manufacturers often make claims about how well these medical devices work. However, some defective knee implants do not perform as promised. Some may not improve mobility or prevent pain. Some may not last as long as advertised, leading to expensive revision surgery. In some cases, knee implants have been linked to painful joint and tissue inflammation and other serious complications.
Both Zimmer and DePuy are manufacturers of knee implants and both have faced lawsuits over allegedly defective products. Some patients have claimed that devices had the wrong sizes printed on labels or contained substances that could leak and cause swelling and pain in the joints. Other patients sought legal action because they needed expensive surgery to correct problems, such as loosening of the devices or injury to the tissue and bone inside the knee.
What to do if Your Knee Implant is Recalled
If you have knee replacement surgery and then find out that the device implanted has been recalled, contact a personal injury attorney and your doctor. You will need both legal and medical advice to determine what to do. Your physician can tell you whether you need revision surgery, removal of the advice, or whether you simply need to be monitored more closely. An attorney can advise you whether you have a legal claim.
If you have been injured by a knee implant and the device is recalled, contact a personal injury attorney before contacting the manufacturer. You will want someone by your side, working for your rights and ensuring that you get compensation that reflects the severity of your injury.
You May Have a Claim even if Your Medical Device is not Recalled
Not every defective medical device in Hollywood and South Florida is recalled. In some cases, too few people are injured and manufacturers do not want to go through the expense of a recall. In other cases, manufacturers do not want to admit liability and claim that the complications or injuries are not caused by their devices.
If you are injured after a medical procedure, contact an experienced products liability and medical malpractice attorney in Hollywood or your community. Even if there is no recall, you may have a claim against the manufacturer and other liable parties if you’ve been injured.
To find out whether you have a claim, contact Flaxman Law Group. We’d like to extend the invitation of a free accident consultation. If you have been injured, we’d be pleased to listen and to offer honest advice about your situation with no cost and no obligation to you.