Bausch v. Stryker Corp., 09-3434

Plaintiff's suit against manufacturers, distributors and sellers of a hip replacement device not preempted

Bausch v. Stryker Corp., 09-3434, concerned a plaintiff's suit against manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of the Trident-brand ceramic-on-ceramic hip replacement system, claiming that she has been injured by the medical device and that the defendants violated federal law in manufacturing the device.


In reversing the district court's grant of defendants' motion to dismiss under Federal Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the ground that plaintiff's common law claims were preempted by federal law, the court held that, because plaintiff's claims that she was injured by defendants' alleged violations of federal law are not preempted, her original complaint should not have been dismissed, and even if the original complaint had been defective, the district court abused its discretion by dismissing the action with prejudice and denying plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint.

Related Link:

• Read the Seventh Circuit's Full Decision in Bausch v. Stryker Corp., 09-3434