Another metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit has been filed against Biomet.

The hip replacement lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Lizzie Huff, who received a Biomet hip implant in November 2010. Her metal hip replacement lawsuit alleges Huff suffered serious complications, including debilitating pain, decreased range of motion, and the buildup of fluid around the joint. Her hip implant side effects lawsuit goes on to state that she suffered from metal ion poisoning, and that she will require lifelong medical care, and has lost income potential.

Huff’s case is similar to thousands of others. The Biomet hip in question is a type of metal-on-metal hip implant. Like all artificial hips, they are designed to replace the socket of the hip (pelvis) and knob of the upper leg bone (femur). This joint can wear out with age or injury, causing pain and swelling. Artificial hip joints circumvent this problem by replacing the surfaces of the joint. Many artificial joints replace this surface with ceramic or polymers. Several years ago, a number of medical companies, including Biomet, DePuy, and others, released metal-on-metal hip implants, in which both the pelvic and femur sides of the joint are made of metal without any polymer or ceramic. This type of hip implant, across different makes and models, has been alleged to cause a host of complications not found in other types of hip implants.

It has been alleged, in Huff’s hip lawsuit and others, that metal-on-metal hip implants are prone to a number of serious complications. For example, metal-on-metal hip replacement lawsuits have alleged that the necks of such implants are prone to greater corrosion and fretting than other styles of hip implants. However, the most serious allegations involve the interfacing surface — the point the two faces of the joint meet. It is alleged that the metal surfaces moving against each other can shave off microscopic metal fragments. These fragments are more reactive than the metal of the joint when whole. Allegedly, these fragments react to form metallic ions, which can dissolve in the blood. These ions can allegedly cause the symptoms of metal poisoning, including the formation of pseudotumors around the joint, as well as joint swelling, and debilitating pain.

The hip replacement lawsuit against Biomet has taken the form of a multidistrict litigation or MDL. MDLs are a sort of grouping of individual lawsuits into a single legal action. In many ways, an MDL are similar to class action lawsuits, in that a group of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar harm at the hands of the same defendant.

The Biomet Hip Implant Lawsuit is formally titled Lizzie Huff v. Biomet Incorporated, et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-01678-RML-CAM, filed within the Biomet MDL,  In re: Biomet M2a Magnum Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2391, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.