Court Grants Judgment to Hip Implant Maker; Recall Letter Doesn’t Establish Defect

In the absence of expert testimony, a product recall letter issued by a medical device manufacturer does not establish the device was defective or unreasonably dangerous, a federal court in Alabama ruled May 13 in (Hughes v. Stryker Sales Corp.).

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama ruled that without expert testimony, plaintiff Judith Hughes could not meet her initial burden of showing that the Trident Hemispherical Acetabular Shell manufactured and distributed by defendants Stryker Sales Corp. and Howmedica Osteonics Corp. (collectively Stryker), was defective.

Expert testimony also was required to establish a causal connection ...