Ill. Federal Judge Awards Zimmer Summary Judgment in 2nd NexGen Knee Bellwether Case Set for Trial

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge has awarded Zimmer Inc. summary judgment in the second bellwether case scheduled for trial in the NexGen Knee multidistrict litigation, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to present sufficient evidence that the device’s design caused the alleged injury, and that the warnings accompanying the device were inadequate.

In an Oct. 21 order, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois excluded the testimony of the plaintiff’s causation expert, ruling that he failed to apply his methodology in a reliable manner. The judge further held that the learned intermediary doctrine …