Each year in the U.S. approximately 300,000 patients undergo knee replacement surgeries, in which their own knee is replaced with a prosthetic knee. Many recipients of knee implants in the U.S. have suffered from serious medical complications due to receiving defective knee implants. Some of the patients required additional surgeries and suffered muscular damage, joint damage, and costly rehabilitation. If you or a loved one has had to undergo a total knee replacement due to an unsafe defect, you should contact a skilled Kansas City total knee replacement lawyer at Peterson & Associates to ensure that you receive aggressive legal representation and recover the compensation that you deserve for your pain and suffering.

Total Knee Replacement

Sulzer Orthopedic announced that its prosthetic knee replacement had "unanticipated adverse clinical outcomes" in 2001, although the artificial knees were never officially recalled. Knee replacement recipients and the public were informed that one of the components of the artificial knee failed to properly bond with the bone and, as a result, the knee failed in many patients. This information prompted makers of artificial knees to investigate their own products, and it was discovered that Smith and Nephew, Johnson and Johnson/Depuy, Encore and Stryker/Howmedica knees had similar defects and were recalled.

What makes many knee replacements unsuccessful is the gamma-ray treated ultra-high molecular wave polyethylene in the prosthetic material. The gamma rays cause the artificial knee to corrode prematurely, which causes the affected area to suffer from inflammation and may result in bone lysis and loosening (aseptic loosening).

If your knee was replaced with a defective artificial knee, please contact Peterson & Associates immediately to discuss your case with one of our aggressive Missouri total knee replacement attorneys. We may be able to recover monetary compensation for your defective knee replacement injuries, medical expenses, loss of wages, and other related costs.