Products Liability Law Reporter

A federal district court held that a plaintiff’s failure to allege specific facts regarding hip replacement components’ manufacturing defects does not warrant dismissal of her strict products liability lawsuit.

Patricia Reid underwent a hip replacement, during which doctors implanted artificial hip components designed and manufactured by Wright Medical Technology, Inc., (WMT) and Zimmer, Inc. Reid developed metallosis and required revision surgery approximately three years later. Additionally, the FDA recalled the WMT metal femoral head used in Reid’s first surgery.

Reid sued WMT and Zimmer, alleging strict liability and negligence. The plaintiff’s strict liability claim against WMT was based on both defective design and defective manufacturing theories. The company filed a partial motion to dismiss on the basis that the plaintiff failed to allege specific facts related to the purported manufacturing defect.

Denying the motion, the district court noted that a plaintiff suing for manufacturing defect is not required to allege facts supporting the claim that exceed the requirements of the applicable pleading standard. Here, the plaintiff alleged that although the defendant’s hip components were designed to last for two decades, they degraded in her body within approximately three years. Additionally, the plaintiff has alleged facts showing that the defendant’s hip components failed, how they failed, and how those failures deviate from the products’ expected performance. These allegations allow for a plausible inference that the components’ alleged failures are attributable to a manufacturing defect, the court said.

Citation: Reid v. Wright Med. Tech., Inc., 2019 WL 4861988 (D. Minn. Oct. 2, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: Michael D. Stinson and Ian Blodger, both of Minneapolis.