iBalance Knee Case to Proceed on Theories of Negligence, Fraud in Pa.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge has allowed an iBalance knee replacement lawsuit to proceed on theories of negligence and fraud, rejecting Arthrex Inc.’s preemption defense as premature.

In a Feb. 27 order, Judge A. Richard Caputo of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania further found that the learned intermediary doctrine does not bar the negligence claims, and that the intentional misrepresentation claims were pled with the requisite particularity.

Mary Miller underwent a total left knee replacement on Aug. 6, 2015, during which her surgeon implanted an Arthrex iBalance knee implant. Following the surgery, Miller …