Artificial knees and hips are designed to last many years, as much as 15 years or more. However, they might fail much sooner if they are subject to manufacturing or design defects. For instance, plastic components have become brittle and weak because of the way they are sterilized. In other cases, implants have been weakened because of contamination with oily residue left behind by the manufacturing process.
Patients who require a revision surgery to remove a defective implant can be at a much higher risk of complications, including loss of bone and early failure of the replacement joints.
If you suspect that your joint implant has failed too soon and have decided to have it removed, instruct your doctor to retain the implant and not discard it. The implant can then be examined by experts to determine why it failed. We may be able to help you recover damages if the implant failed because of manufacturing or design defects.
Please call or email us if you think we can be of assistance to you. There is only a limited amount of time to investigate why your implant failed and to file a claim for damages. So, we encourage you to contact us quickly if you have any desire to pursue a claim.
