Sulzer rejects responsibility for faulty implants
Sulzer Industries has said again that it bears no legal or moral responsibility for faulty knee and hip implants produced by its former subsidiary, Sulzer Medica.
Sulzer Medica is facing thousands of lawsuits from patients in the United States who have had to undergo revision surgery. Lubricant residue on the implants prevented them from bonding with the bone, causing them to loosen.
In a statement, Sulzer said the implants were produced after Sulzer Medica’s separate listing on the stock exchange in 1997. Since then, the medical technology unit had been legally independent, said the statement.
It added that Sulzer had only been made aware of the problem in December last year, the same time as the general public.
Traders welcomed the strong statement as there had been worries on the market about the possible impact of the crisis on Sulzer finances.
Sulzer Medica has proposed a $780 million out-of-court settlement of claims against it but this has been challenged in the courts.
Individual lawsuits against the company have been suspended, pending a hearing by an Ohio appeals court at the end of the month.
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