Wright Medical Prevails in Ark. Federal Knee Replacement System Case

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas federal judge has awarded Wright Medical Technology Inc. summary judgment in a lawsuit targeting its knee replacement system, ruling that the plaintiff failed to point to any design or manufacturing defects in the device.

In an Aug. 10 order, Judge Lee Rudofsky of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas further held that the learned intermediary doctrine defeats the plaintiff’s warning defect claim because the surgeon testified that he was aware of the device’s risks, which were outlined in the device’s instructions for use.

Billy Ray Kendrick was implanted with Wright’s …