Smith & Nephew Inc. sued for product liability

A man is suing over claims a hip replacement component failed after surgery.

Jean-Yves M. Niedzwiecki filed a lawsuit Jan. 9 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Smith & Nephew Inc., citing product liability.

According to the complaint, the defendants designed, manufactured, sold and distributed an Emperion modular hip system to be used by orthopedic surgeons performing hip arthroplasty surgery.

Niedzwiecki claims that on May 4, 2010, he went for treatment with Goldstein for various ailments with his right hip and Goldstein performed right total hip arthroplasty, inserting an Emperion femoral component known as an Emperion stem.

The complaint states on Jan. 17, 2012, the femoral stem component fractured, causing the plaintiff to undergo further surgery.

Niedzwiecki alleges the component did not perform as reasonably expected, among other claims.

He is seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000 and is being represented by attorneys from Steinberg, Goodman & Kalish.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L000217.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.