Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Implant Cases Sent to MDL in Maryland

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A centralized docket for all federal lawsuits alleging injury caused by components of Smith & Nephew’s Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System has been created in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

In an order issued April 5, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation assigned the coordinated docket to U.S. Dist. Judge Catherine C. Blake after rejecting several of Smith & Nephew’s arguments against centralization.

In the process, the JPML also renamed the MDL to reflect the exclusion of claims involving the defendant’s R3 acetabular system.

The defendant had objected to centralization, partially based on the …