Plaintiffs Assert Punitive Damages Claim in Fla. Biomet Hip Case

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida judge has allowed the three plaintiffs in a lawsuit involving Biomet’s M2a-38 metal-on-metal hip system to amend their complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages and granted defendants’ motion for separate trials.

In a June 21 order, Judge Patti E. Henning of the Broward County Circuit Court granted plaintiffs’ motion — filed under seal — to assert a claim for punitive damages against Biomet Inc. and distributor Orthopedics Inc. And in a June 19 order, the judge determined that separate trials for each of the three plaintiffs is warranted.

According to the second …