Friday, October 21, 2011

Zimmer Hip Lawyers Fight for Different Types of Damages


Papaccio v. Zimmer Holdings, in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida on July 11, 2011 asked for declaratory relief. Declaratory relief is a judge's determination of the parties' rights under a contract or a statute often requested for information in a lawsuit over a contract. The theory is that an early resolution of legal rights will resolve some or all of the other issues in the matter. Over 12,000 people in the United States have had a Zimmer Durom Cup implanted during their hip replacement surgery.  Hundreds of these people could experience Zimmer hip failure due to loosening of the component and the need for additional surgeries which was caused by the negligence of Zimmer Holdings, Inc.  They introduced a new product without providing adequate warnings or instructions about the proper use and surgical techniques required leading to many hip replacement patients looking to file a Zimmer hip lawsuit.

Class action lawsuits have the potential to yield high pretrial settlements with defendants risking considerable amounts in the face of so many claims at once. On the other hand, individuals who suffered a more significant injury in comparison to other similarly situated plaintiffs or if the financial consequences relevant to the situation at hand are more excessive than the norm – an individual Zimmer hip lawsuit may be more advantageous. Prior to deciding whether a case qualifies for a class action or individual lawsuit, they are being assessed by an experienced and knowledgeable Zimmer hip lawyer. Earlier this year, a class action suit was filed in Indiana on behalf of shareholders of Zimmer stock.  Interestingly, the lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who purchased stock between January 28, 2008 and July 21, 2008, indicating that Zimmer Holdings withheld information about their new implant from everyone, including those invested in the company.
Another form of a Zimmer lawsuit is the disgorgement of profits, which seeks to put a dent into the success of a company that has profited through unscrupulous means. In July, 2008, Zimmer finally suspended sales in America. Instead of pulling the cups from the market in January when they became aware of problems, Zimmer left them on the market while they investigated what was going on. The orthopedic devices maker also reported second-quarter net sales in 2011 of $1.14 billion. Despite this, Zimmer is still signaling a decline to settle in most cases, though this may change as their settlement relief fund grows larger.

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