Sulzer Medica wins suspension of US lawsuits
A court in the American state of Ohio has re-instated the suspension of individual liability lawsuits against Sulzer Medica pending the company's appeal.
The court will hear the firm’s appeal on November 29. At the beginning of October, the court decided that individual lawsuits against the company over faulty knee and hip implants could proceed.
This overturned an earlier, lower court decision that ended the lawsuits in preference for Sulzer Medica’s $783 million class settlement.
Sulzer Medica faces around 1,800 claims for compensation and damages from patients who had to undergo revision surgery after lubricant-tainted implants needed to be replaced.
Some analysts fear the costs from legal action could ruin the company, though Sulzer Medica says the worst-case scenario would see its US subsidiary enter bankruptcy proceedings.
Shares in Sulzer Medica rose on Friday’s news. The court’s October decision had sent the company’s share price tumbling to an all time low.
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