Stryker Corp. Granted Summary Judgment in Pain Pump Injury Suit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A Tennessee federal judge has granted Stryker Corp. summary judgment in a pain pump injury suit, ruling that the manufacturer could not have known that the implantation of its device in shoulder joints could cause cartilage damage. Rodriguez v. Stryker Corp., No. 08-0124 (M.D. Tenn.).

On Jan. 5, Judge Aleta A. Trauger of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee concluded that at the time the device was implanted, the purported association between chondrolysis and anesthetic infusion in the shoulder joint was unknown to Stryker.

In November 2004, Andrew Rodriguez underwent shoulder surgery, during …