Zimmer Beats Back Appeal in Knee Implant Suit

Zimmer Inc. beat back a man’s appeal from a judgment in the second test trial over its NexGen knee implant product liability litigation.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit March 8 affirmed judgment for Zimmer in a suit by Theodore and Darlene Joas.

Joas, who alleged the implant was prone to premature loosening, asked the court to reinstate a single claim based on a theory of inadequate warning.

His appeal raised some unresolved issues in Wisconsin product-liability law—most notably, the application of the “learned intermediary” doctrine, which the Wisconsin Supreme Court has not yet had an opportunity ...