Amended Master Complaint Filed in Birmingham Hip Resurfacing MDL

BALTIMORE — Plaintiffs in the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing multidistrict litigation have filed a master amended complaint in which they accuse Smith & Nephew of waiting to recall its metal-on-metal hip resurfacing prosthesis until 2015 despite being aware of the device’s unreasonably high risk of premature failure as early as 2007.

In the Aug. 11 amended pleading filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, plaintiffs allege Smith & Nephew misrepresented the safety of the BHR system to physicians and patients and violated premarket approval requirements by failing to report adverse events.

The BHR is a metal-on-metal hip …