On June 14, 2022, Pope McGlamry, PC filed a personal injury lawsuit against Exactech Inc. in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  The lawsuit alleges that the Plaintiff, and thousands of other patients have been required to undergo extensive revision surgery to remove and replace Exactech’s defective Optetrak knee devices following a recall wherein Exactech admitted to failing to properly package approximately 150,000 polyethylene inserts.  Recipients of Optetrak knee devices, like the Plaintiff, have been required to undergo painful revision surgeries well before the estimated life expectancy of a knee implant and at a much higher rate than should reasonably be expected for devices of this kind. 

In the last year, Exactech has issued two recalls—the first was in June 2021 for its hip liners—the second was on August 30, 2021, when Exactech notified its distributors and sales representatives of a recall involving knee products with the same polyethylene liner as its hip products. Exactech expanded the knee recall on February 7, 2022, to include nearly 150,00 knee devices that have been implanted since 2004.

The lawsuit also alleges that by the beginning of 2011, Exactech had clinical evidence its Optetrak knee devices were failing at a rate higher than promoted. Reports in the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) indicated instances of revision due to “loose tibial component”, “aseptic loosening”, “pain and visible loosening”, “polyethylene deformation”, “polyethylene worn”, and “pain, limited mobility, knee swelling and sensitivity” due to “loose” joint.

Pope McGlamry P.C. is litigating hip and knee cases against Exactech in federal and state court and has two trial dates set in 2023.  On June 14, 2022 a Motion to Consolidate federal lawsuits filed against Exactech stemming from the recalls was filed before the Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation (“JPMDL”).  The JPMDL will hear argument from the involved parties on July 28 or September 29 and decide whether litigation against Exactech should be consolidated to a specific judge and jurisdiction. 

Over the last decade, Pope McGlamry’s attorneys have settled more than 3,500 defective hip cases against manufacturers such as Biomet, DePuy, MicroPort, Stryker, and Wright. Our attorneys have led the way in defective orthopedic implant litigation and have been appointed by federal and state court judges to serve in leadership positions against medical device manufacturers like Exactech. 

We know the intricacies of these types of devices and the mechanisms of failure, and more importantly, we understand the immense impact these faulty devices can have on the individuals who receive them. Pope McGlamry also has the financial resources to litigate these cases against well-funded and well-defended orthopedic device manufacturers.