If you remember hearing your grandfather talk about his bum knee, you may connect that with memories of him being unable to play ball with you in the yard or walk beside you while you rode your bike. You may remember him groaning in pain if he needed to pick something off the floor or stand up from his chair.
Then you began to feel the twinge in your own knee that gradually grew into a pain so debilitating you could hardly walk, and you understood what Grandpa was going through. Fortunately, doctors now have a way to bring new life to your old joints through knee replacement surgery. It may have seemed like an answer to your prayers until the trouble began.
What did the manufacturer know?
You may have begun to feel pain or notice swelling in your knee following your surgical replacement. On the other hand, the pain may have come on suddenly if parts of the artificial device broke loose from your bone. If this is your situation, your doctor may have implanted a defective knee. Currently, several artificial knees are the subject of investigations and lawsuits because of issues their manufacturers kept hidden from regulators and surgeons.
- Braun manufactures the ceramic-coated knee replacement facing the most recent scrutiny. At least 25 patients have filed lawsuits alleging the following:
- Because of the ceramic coating of the device, moisture may collect under the cement attaching the replacement knee to your bone.
- The moisture prevents the cement from properly adhering to your bone.
- Braun’s subsidiary that marketed the device may have known about the cement problem.
- When doctors participating in a clinical trial noticed the cement failure, B. Braun and its subsidiary discontinued the trial and allegedly hid the results from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- The companies went on to market the ceramic-coated knee replacement as better than more commonly used metal devices.
You may have needed additional surgeries to correct the defective knee. In fact, doctors who have done corrective procedures on patients with failed knee replacements often found no cement remaining to keep the artificial knee attached to the bone. Some doctors report being able to remove any residual cement with two fingers, rather than using a saw or mallet.
Is it over yet?
Those who have not gone through this can only imagine the pain and frustration you endured as your artificial knee failed. You may even have found yourself thinking that you wish you had never gone through with knee replacement surgery and that you probably could have lived with the pain rather than go through all this suffering.
As the courts seek to determine the extent of culpability held by B. Braun and other manufacturers of defective medical devices, you may wish to seek your own advice about how to proceed in efforts to claim potential compensation for your situation.