Conn. Federal Judge Remands Smith & Nephew R3 Hip System Case

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut federal judge has remanded an action targeting Smith & Nephew Inc.’s R3 hip implant system, ruling that the joinder of the plaintiff’s in-state medical providers was not fraudulent and therefore defeats diversity jurisdiction.

On Oct. 2, Senior Judge Warren W. Eginton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut further held that federal question jurisdiction is lacking because analysis of the federal regulations and standards at issue in the case will be “unlikely to substantially impact the federal system” or “medical device manufacturers nationwide.”

During Robert Boehringer’s bilateral hip surgery his surgeon …