Smith & Nephew Knee Lawsuit

Please visit our main knee lawsuits page to see which types of knee-related litigations we are currently accepting.

Did you receive a Smith & Nephew Journey™ I BCS Knee and are now facing, or have had, revision surgery? If so, and you are considering filing a Smith & Nephew Knee lawsuit, we may be able to help.

The first generation model of Smith & Nephew’s Bi-cruciate Stabilized (BCS) Knee replacement system—the Journey I BCS Knee System—has had a high failure rate due to femoral component loosening. If you were implanted with the Journey I BCS Knee and have had or been told you need revision surgery, you may be entitled to compensation.

Trustwell Law is accepting cases on behalf of patients who received a first generation Smith & Nephew Journey BCS Knee and have had or been told they need revision surgery. Contact us at 800-796-1636 or submit your case details online for a free consultation, and someone from our legal team will contact you shortly. You may be entitled to compensation.

Our attorneys have years of experience and a reputation for personalized, compassionate partnering with our clients. We also have access to the expertise, resources, and manpower to fully investigate your circumstances in order to get you the justice you deserve.

Smith & Nephew Journey I BCS Knee Replacements

The first-generation Smith & Nephew BCS Knee, the Journey I BCS Knee System, was first sold in 2005 for partial and total knee replacements. Marketing materials indicated the line was aimed at younger, more active patients. But the UK-based company began phasing out the Journey I model in 2013 and 2014. Following the Journey I, Smith & Nephew introduced the Journey II.

Smith & Nephew Journey I BCS Knee Recall

In June 2018, Smith & Nephew voluntarily issued a recall for the Journey I BCS Knee. In the Urgent Field Safety Notice the company released, it explains that the knee was found to have a revision rate one and a half times higher than similar knee implants. The company further stated that recipients of the device could need revision surgery earlier than they or their doctors would normally expect. The Notice also cautioned medical practitioners and facilities that had purchased the unit to find and set aside any unused devices.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later classified this recall as a Class II recall: “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”

Smith & Nephew Journey I BCS Knee Replacement Issues and Warnings

In July 2018, the United Kingdom, where Smith & Nephew is based, issued a medical device alert concerning the Journey I BCS Knee replacement system. The alert instructed medical practitioners not to implant the Journey I BCS Knee, and it further advised physicians who had already implanted the device to monitor their patients carefully for up to ten years—to watch for signs of femoral component loosening and implant destabilization.

The alert related that the National Joint Registry of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man had found the revision rate of the Journey I BCS Knee to be more than double the average rate for primary total knee replacements. And yet another study, partially funded by Smith & Nephew, found the revision rate to be four times greater for the Journey I knee as that of Smith & Nephew’s next release—the Journey II.

Smith & Nephew Journey I BCS Revision Surgery and Litigation

Revision, or replacement, surgery is painful and costly. In addition, having endured the original surgery for the hope of improved quality of movement and life that lasts many years, it is particularly disheartening to have to face revision surgery long before it would normally be expected.

If you or a loved one received a Smith & Nephew Journey I BCS Knee and have had or been advised that you need revision surgery due to femoral component loosening, contact us. You may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, medical and other expenses and lost work.