What Is Exactech?

Exactech is a Florida-based company that manufactures joint implants and provides tools for surgeons. It was founded by an orthopedic surgeon in 1985. Exactech products are often used in hip replacements, knee replacements, shoulder replacements, and ankle replacements. The products are used by surgeons to replace arthritic or injured joints.

In June and August 2021, Exactech recalled thousands of products related to hip, knee, and ankle replacements because of defective packaging. The defective products are called liners and inserts. Both liners and inserts are plastic parts made of polyethylene that act like cartilage.

The defective packaging was causing the product to degrade earlier than it should because too much oxygen was entering the packaging and reaching the product. They reported that the issue could go back as far as 2004, meaning anyone who has had a replacement within that timeframe could be at risk. It’s approximated that surgeons have implanted close to 150,000 of these defective liners and inserts into patients during joint replacement surgeries.

Injuries and problems that can arise from a degraded insert or liner include accelerated debris, bone loss, cracking, fractures, loosening, pain, and revision surgery.  

Then, in February of 2022, Exactech issued an urgent medical device correction that expanded an earlier recall.

Some of the recalled products include the following:

• OPTETRAK® All-polyethylene Tibial Components
• OPTETRAK® Tibial Inserts
• OPTETRAK Logic® Tibial Inserts
• TRULIANT® Tibial Inserts
• VANTAGE® Fixed-Bearing Liner Component
• Connexion GXL Acetabular Liner

If you had a replacement surgery with an Exactech product that isn’t listed above and are experiencing difficulties, you should still reach out to your surgeon and a lawyer so they can help research whether you have a potential claim.
There are also claims that Exactech knew about issues with some of its products but failed to do anything about them. On the contrary, they still pushed their devices and advertised them as being the best. It’s estimated that they knew about certain issues as early as 2012, or 2014 at the latest.

If you’re experiencing issues related to a joint replacement surgery and an Exactech product was used, you should take the following steps:

Seek Medical Attention

The first thing you want to do is call your surgeon and set up an appointment. If you underwent any type of joint replacement surgery where an Exactech product was used, you should reach out to your surgeon and have a conversation with them about the next steps, even if you aren’t yet in pain or experiencing difficulties; you want to get ahead of it instead of waiting for it to get worse. Signs that you should speak with your surgeon include joint pain, inability to put weight on the joint, grinding noises or sensations in the joint, inflammation or swelling, and instability. From here, you will hopefully receive an X-ray to see what the problem is.

If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms listed so far but aren’t sure if an Exactech product was used, you should reach out to your surgeon so you can gather information from them about the joint replacement surgery and the product used. If you’re experiencing issues because of a company’s defective product, there’s no reason that you should have to pay to fix the issue.

Speak With a Personal Injury Attorney Right Away

After you’ve spoken with your surgeon and determined what the next steps are related to your health, you should reach out to a personal injury attorney right away. Make sure you speak with someone who has experience handling product liability claims, and those specifically involving defective medical products. Not all personal injury lawyers are created equally. The more relevant experience they have, the more likely you are to recover the compensation you truly deserve.

When you speak with potential attorneys, make sure you provide them with as much information as possible. This includes medical records and notes about how your life has been affected and what needs to be done to remedy the situation. The more you can provide them upfront, the better they can determine if you have a valid claim.

You Can File a Claim With Exactech

While you don’t have to take this route, you have the option of filing a claim with a third party that Exactech is utilizing to handle these claims instead of filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you do this, you will pay for all your revision surgeries and any other medical necessities to solve the problem, and then you will be reimbursed after the fact. If you choose this route, you will lose out on the ability to collect compensation for other damages, such as emotional distress and pain and suffering.

Keep in mind that the company you’re dealing with represents the interests of Exactech; no matter what they say, they are not fully on your side. Even if you choose to go this route, it’s still wise to speak with an attorney before doing so to ensure that you aren’t taken advantage of throughout the process.

Each lawsuit is different and very case specific. The amount you’re entitled to will change depending on your pain and suffering, what difficulties you experienced, the effect this has had on your life and that it will have going forward, and what steps needed to be taken to resolve the issue (if it can be resolved). If you incurred significant medical expenses and lost wages because of the issues, you should receive compensation equal to those losses at the very least. As a general rule of thumb, patients who experienced a lot of pain and had to undergo revision surgeries because of the defective product may be entitled to significant compensation.

If you successfully file a lawsuit against Exactech, you may be entitled to significant monetary damages, including economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include medical expenses, lost income, future lost income, lost earning capacity, and other expenses you incurred as a direct result of the issues you experienced because of the Exactech product. You may also be entitled to non-economic damages, such as emotional distress, mental anguish, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of enjoyment of life, and more. These types of damages are more difficult to quantify in monetary terms, but an experienced lawyer will have an understanding of how to do this.

In all personal injury claims, there is a deadline by which you must file your lawsuit or you will lose your chance to do so. This is known as the statute of limitations. This deadline varies by state, so it’s important to speak with an experienced attorney right away to determine how long you have to file your lawsuit. Generally speaking, the deadline is between 2 and 4 years from the date you discovered or should have reasonably discovered that you were facing a problem with an Exactech product. This might sound like a long time, but it passes quickly. You want to make sure your lawyer has enough time to investigate your claim and do everything they need to do to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.

Surgery is never fun, but we assume that once we get home and fully recover, things will be better and we will be able to move on with our lives. For some unfortunate people who have undergone joint replacement surgeries using Exactech products, this hasn’t been the case. Many of their products have been recalled and have failed prematurely or caused other serious issues in recipients. If you have a problem with a joint replacement surgery and you believe an Exactech product is to blame, Morgan & Morgan can help.

As the largest personal injury firm in America, we have the resources necessary to fight for you every step of the way. We have been practicing for decades and have offices throughout the country, so no matter where you’re located, we’re here for you. Contact Morgan & Morgan to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation.