10th Circuit Reinstates Zimmer Knee Case Following Okla. Opinion on Negligence Per Se

DENVER — The 10th Circuit has reversed summary judgment awarded to Zimmer Inc. (NYSE: ZMH)in a knee implant case following the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s opinion that the state recognizes a negligence per se claim based on a violation of the Medical Device Amendments.

The court issued a three-page published opinion May 29 acknowledging that it was acting following receipt of “this conclusive determination of state law” in an appeal by Brian C. Howard after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma awarded summary judgment to defendants.

The 10th Circuit stayed Howard’s appeal while it certified a question …