A lawsuit accusing Biomet of selling a faulty metal hip will proceed, after the Indiana device company failed to successfully argue that the device had been approved for use and was preempted from legal action as a result.
Parker Waichman LP is representing Leslie Caccia in the legal case, which is pending in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana. Caccia alleges that the Biomet M2a Magnum hip implant harmed him by causing bone loss and tissue damage.
The attorneys noted the legal decision, and that their lawsuit is “one of many” filed against the company.
Biomet, which is based in Warsaw, IN, said it lost $623.4 million in the fiscal year ending May 31, up from a $458.8 million net loss the previous fiscal year, due in part to one-time expenses, though sales grew. The company is rumored to either be pursuing a potential IPO or seeking a buyer.
Biomet faces dozens of other lawsuits, but it not the only metal hip implant manufacturer confronting legal troubles. Johnson & Johnson/DePuy ($JNJ) must deal with up to 11,500 lawsuits in the U.S. alleging it sold the now-recalled ASR hips, even though it knew there were problems. The company won a case and lost another, and is now mulling a settlement that could exceed $3 billion. Meanwhile, J&J is preparing for the first federal trial alleging it sold faulty metal hip implants. That’s slated to start Sept. 9 in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.
