8th Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment for Stryker in Pain Pump Injury Case

MINNEAPOLIS — Stryker Corp. is entitled to summary judgment in a pain pump case because the existing medical literature in 2002 was insufficient to allow the manufacturer to foresee the risk of articular cartilage damage from the use of its pain pumps for infusion of intra-articular anesthetics, a federal appeals court has affirmed.

On May 12, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals further held that the Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to approve use of the pain pumps in the joint space did not indicate that use of the device in intra-articular spaces was unsafe or could result in …