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Meyers & Flowers Granted New Trial in Carol Strum vs. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Premier Orthopaedic Sales by Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois
[September 20, 2017]

Meyers & Flowers Granted New Trial in Carol Strum vs. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Premier Orthopaedic Sales by Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois


Meyers & Flowers announced today the firm's request for a new trial has been granted by the Cook County Circuit Court in Carol Strum vs. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Premier Orthopaedic Sales, an Illinois Corporation. In the 2013 trial, Meyers & Flowers alleged the Defendants were negligent in designing the DePuy Articular Surface Replacement ("ASR'') XL hip replacement device, which was prone to premature failure and caused excessive wear of the hip replacement. The suit claimed DePuy failed to adequately warn of the dangers associated with the device, to timely recall the ASR, and to monitor the performance of the ASR.

In Meyers & Flowers' post-trial motion and request for a new trial for Carol Strum, the plaintiff attorneys claimed the Court erred when it ruled pursuant to Fyre v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir, 1923), that Dr. David J. Langton's testimony about volumetric wear analysis of the DePuy ASR hip replacement device would not be heard by the jury. Meyers & Flowers also outlined additional evidentiary errors at trial including the Court error in modifying Illinois Pattern Instruction 31.21 to limit the instruction to negligence claims and to exclude claims for strict liability. The Court found the exclusion of Dr. Langton's testimony did cause prejudice significant enough to deny Plaintiff a fair trial, and granted Meyers & Flowers' request for a new trial. A new trial date will be set on September 21, 2017.

"This new tria is vindication for our client. Ms. Strum, and the thousands of other Americans injured and victimized by DePuy's defective and dangerous ASR XL hip replacement device," said Peter J. Flowers, Meyers & Flowers partner. "We look forward to continue to diligently pursue justice for Ms. Strum and helping further expose how debilitating these defective devices can be to the patient and their entire family."



Dr. Langton, MRCS, is a respected surgeon and a research fellow at Newcastle University. Dr. Langton had been involved in the practice of hip orthopedic surgery for over thirteen years and has focused his research career on metal-on-metal implants and explants, having analyzed over 1,100 explanted metal-on-metal hips. Dr. Langton's excluded testimony in 2013 centered on determining wear on an explanted hip replacement device through his thorough volumetric wear testing methodology. Upon reexamining the briefs, submissions and transcripts, the Court found it erred in precluding Dr. Langton's testimony.

According to the Cook County ruling, "As a result of the Court precluding Dr. Langton from testifying at trial, the question becomes was the Plaintiff denied a fair trial. In resolving the question, the Court must look at the entire trial and the answer is yes, Plaintiff was precluded from giving the jury evidence of the amount of wear on the explanted ASR that was vital to her case."


Mr. Flowers and the Meyers & Flowers team have helped thousands and thousands of victims who were injured by defective hip replacements by representing them in multidistrict litigation suits against international medical device manufacturers such as DePuy Orthopaedics of Johnson & Johnson, PROFEMUR, Wright Medical Technology and Zimmer, Inc. resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. He recently was designated Co-Lead Counsel of the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2768).

ABOUT

Led by Illinois Super Lawyer and former President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Peter J. Flowers, our team of experienced trial attorneys and medical malpractice lawyers routinely take on large challenges, and succeed. In addition to representing clients locally in Chicago and nationally in a full spectrum of cases involving catastrophic personal injuries, medical malpractice, workplace injuries and wrongful death, our attorneys have taken the lead nationally in representing clients who are victims of defective medical products. Connect with Meyers & Flowers at www.meyers-flowers.com, on Facebook (News - Alert) at https://www.facebook.com/MeyersAndFlowers and on Twitter (News - Alert) at https://twitter.com/meyersflowers.


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