When the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $21 million verdict in hip-implant failure litigation, it reaffirmed the process and procedure the justice system uses to evaluate whether verdicts are consistent, according to an attorney who argued the case on appeal.
“The appellate court validated the jury system,” said St. Louis attorney Joe Yeckel. “They trust the jury to listen to the evidence and make decisions as to that evidence and they defer to the jury. So, it just validates the jury system.”
The case, Bayes v. Biomet Inc., involved Plaintiff Mary Bayes who had a Biomet M2a-Magnum implanted on both sides in 2008 at just 59 years old.
“Biomet had experts who were testifying that the surgeon who implanted the Biomet device had installed the device at an incorrect angle,” Yeckel said. “Testimony was that Biomet had a surgical technique that recommended it be placed at approximately a 45-degree angle. Experts testified that Mrs. Bayes' surgeon put the implant in at a higher angle than was recommended.”
Within 18 months of the first implantation, Bayes reportedly had a dislocation.
"She had six revision surgeries, which basically just means a new implant is put in," Yeckel alleged. "They replaced the old device with a different manufacturer's device."
The Eighth Circuit decided that strict liability instruction differed from negligence instruction in that strict liability instruction required the jury to find that the device had been put to a reasonably anticipated use, according to media reports.
“They accepted our argument that negligence and strict liability claims in Missouri contain distinct elements,” Yeckel told the St. Louis Record. “The jury could have found that there was evidence that supported a finding for Biomed on strict liability and different evidence to support negligence.”
Although she can walk, Bayes is not agile and must use a cane.
“She just always lives in fear that anything she does at any time may cause her hip to dislocate, in which case they have to call paramedics, they have to transport her to the hospital, and they would have to perform surgery,” Yeckel said.
As previously reported in Missouri Lawyers Media, Bayes has already had 12 dislocations that interfere with her daily life activities due to pain.
"I met her at a restaurant after the argument to talk about how the argument went," Yeckel added. "She and her husband had gotten there much earlier than I. They were already seated because she needs to be accommodated so she can sit. She has to be in a higher chair. It's just very hard for her."