Fla. Judge Notes Possibility of Distributor Liability in Remand of Biomet Hip Implant Case

TAMPA, Fla. — Distributors of an M2a-Magnum Biomet hip implant could be held liable under Florida’s strict liability law for injuries caused by alleged defects in the device, a federal judge has ruled in remanding the case to state court.

Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington said in a July 7 decision that she lacks jurisdiction to hear a case brought against two Florida-based sellers of metal-on-metal artificial hip because they’re considered part of the chain of distribution for the device and potentially subject to Florida’s expanded doctrine of strict liability.

In ruling so, Judge Hernandez Covington rejected Biomet’s argument …