Judge Refuses to Dismiss Punitive Damages Claim in Pain Pump Case

RENO, Nev. - A woman who says a pain pump caused her to lose cartilage in her shoulder has sufficiently pleaded a claim for punitive damages against Stryker Corp., a Nevada federal judge has ruled. _Vialpando v. Stryker Corp., et al., _No. 10-28 (D. Nev.).

On March 21, Judge Lloyd D. George of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada ruled that the plaintiff alleged maliciousness and fraud with the requisite particularity.

Dorothy Vialpando underwent shoulder surgery in 2006, after which her surgeon implanted a Stryker pain pump in her shoulder joint space. Plaintiff asserts that she has …