Pennsylvania Supreme Court reverses Zimmer win in $20m knee implant lawsuit

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday reversed a state appeals court’s decision to overturn a $20 million verdict against Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) in a knee implant lawsuit. Plaintiff Margo Polett claimed she re-injured her knees while making a Zimmer promotional video, after a double knee replacement procedure in 2006 using Zimmer’s Gender Solutions devices. Polett claimed that activities she engaged in for the video, including riding a bicycle and running on a treadmill, resulted in new damage to her knees. She and her husband sued for negligence, saying that injuries incurred during the filming of the marketing video resulted in 4 revision surgeries after she was left with persistent pain. A jury awarded Polett millions in damages after finding that Zimmer was 34% culpable. The jury also put 30% of the blame on Polett herself and 36% on the marketing firm Public Communications for its involvement with the ad. The Pennsylvania Superior Court last October ruled that the lower court incorrectly shifted the burden of proof onto Zimmer by asking the company to provide alternative explanations for Polett’s revisions surgeries, thus leading the jury to a potentially false conclusion, and ordered a new trial. The Keystone State’s high court agreed in May 2014 to consider 3 issues in the case. The 1st issue concerns whether the trial court was correct in preventing the jury from learning of a medical malpractice tolling agreement between the Poletts and...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Legal News Orthopedics Zimmer Biomet Source Type: news