Williams v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.

123 F. Supp. 3d 733, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108670, 2015 WL 4984531
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedAugust 18, 2015
DocketCivil No. CCB-14-3138
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 123 F. Supp. 3d 733 (Williams v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 123 F. Supp. 3d 733, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108670, 2015 WL 4984531 (D. Md. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

CATHERINE C. BLAKE, District Judge.

Lewis Williams, Jr., and his wife, Angela Williams, filed this lawsuit against Smith & [736]*736Nephew, Inc. — maker of the Birmingham Hip -Resurfacing System (“BHR System”) at the center of this lawsuit — alleging state law claims of negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, and loss of consortium. The Williamses allege Smith & Nephew deviated, in several ways, from the requirements the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) set in its order approving the BHR System for commercial distribution. In their view, these deviations ultimately caused Mr. Williams, the recipient of a BHR System implant, permanent and irreversible harm. Presently pénding is Smith & Nephew's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, which invokes, as defenses, express preemption under 21 U.S.C. § 360k of the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (“MDA”), implied preemption under Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs’ Legal Comm., 531 U.S. 341, 121 S.Ct. 1012, 148 L.Ed.2d 854 (2001), and Rule 8 insufficiency. For the reasons stated below, Smith & Nephew’s motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

In 1976, Congress passed the MDA “[i]n response to the mounting consumer and regulatory concern” over medical devices, which had not previously been subject to federal regulation. Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 476, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996). The MDA changed that by imposing on medical devices “a regime of detailed federal oversight.” Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 552 U.S. 312, 316, 128 S.Ct. 999, 169 L.Ed.2d 892 (2008).

The level of oversight established by the MDA regime varies according to a medical device’s safety risks. Class I devices— such as elastic bandages and examination gloves — are least risky, and are therefore “subject to the lowest level of oversight: ‘general controls,’ such as labeling requirements.” Id. (quoting 21 U.S.C. § 360c(a)(1)(A)). Class II devices — such as powered wheelchairs and surgical drapes — are subject to “heightened oversight mechanisms, such as ‘performance standards [and] postmarket surveillance[.]’ ” Walker v. Medtronic, Inc., 670 F.3d 569, 572 (4th Cir.2012) (quoting 21 U.S.C. § 360c(a)(1)(B)). Class III devices — such as replacement heart valves and pacemaker pulse generators — are the most risky, and are subject to “the highest level of federal oversight.” Id. Accordingly, “[b]efore a new Class III device may be introduced to the market, the manufacturer must provide the FDA with a ‘reasonable assurance’ that the device is both safe and effective” by completing the premark-et approval (“PMA”) process. Lohr, 518 U.S. at 477, 116 S.Ct. 2240 (citing 21 U.S.C. § 360e(d)(2)).

PMA is a “rigorous” process. Riegel, 552 U.S. at 317, 128 S.Ct. 999 (quoting Lohr, 518 U.S. at 477, 116 S.Ct. 2240). It requires a device-maker to provide, among other things: information concerning a device’s safety and effectiveness; “a full statement of [its]'components, ingredients, and properties”; the methods and facilities used to manufacture it; and examples of proposed labeling. 21 U.S.C. § 360e(c)(1). “This typically requires a ‘multivolume application.’ ” Walker, 670 F.3d at 573 (quoting Riegel, 552 U.S. at 317, 128 S.Ct. 999). The FDA then reviews the device, and, after “weighing any probable benefit to health from the use of the device against any probable risk of injury or illness from such use[,]” 21 U.S.C. § 360c(a)(2)(C), decides whether to grant premarket approval. Further, “the FDA may condition its grant of. premarket approval upon certain requirements.” Walker, 670 F.3d at 573. The PMA process takes, on average, 1,200 hours. Riegel, 552 U.S. at 318, 128 S.Ct. 999.

After a device receives FDA approval, the MDA “forbids the manufacturer to [737]*737make, without FDA permission, changes in design specifications, manufacturing process, labeling, or any other attribute, that would affect safety or effectiveness.” Walker, 670 F.3d at 573 (quoting Riegel, 552 U.S. at 319, 128 S.Ct. 999). To make any such change, a manufacturer must submit a supplemental application that is “evaluated under largely the same criteria as an initial application.” Riegel, 552 U.S. at 319, 128 S.Ct. 999; see also 21 U.S.C. § 360e(d)(6)(A)(i).

PMA also imposes reporting requirements after a device has been approved. See Riegel, 552 U.S. at 319, 128 S.Ct. 999 (citing 21 U.S.C. § 360i). A device-maker has, for example,

the obligation to inform the FDA of new clinical investigations or scientific studies concerning the device which the [device-maker] knows of or reasonably should know of, 21 C.F.R. § 814.84(b)(2), and to report incidents in which the device may have caused or contributed to death or serious injury, or malfunctioned. in a manner that would likely cause or contribute to death or serious injury if it recurred, § 803.50(a).

Id. at 319, 128 S.Ct. 999. The FDA “has the power to withdraw premarket approval based on newly reported data or existing information and must [do so] if it determines that a device is unsafe or ineffective under the conditions in its labeling.” Id. at 319-20, 128 S.Ct. 999 (citing 21 U.S.C. § 360e(e)(1)).

As will be described further below, infra section I.A, the MDA also includes an “express pre-emption prQvision[,]” Riegel, 552 U.S. at 316, 128 S.Ct. 999, which is codified at 21 U.S.C. § 360k.

The Williamses’ complaint alleges the following. Smith & Nephew designs, manufactures, and sells the BHR System, a “metal-on-metal hip resurfacing prosthesis” made from a' cobalt chromium and molybdenum alloy. (Compl. ¶ 5, ECF No. 1.) The BHR System is a Class III device under the MDA. (Compl. ¶ 6.) Accordingly, it is subject to the PMA process.

In 2004, Smith & Nephew submitted an application to the FDA for premarket approval of the BHR System. (Compl. ¶ 7.) On May 9/2006, the FDA “conditionally approved]” the BHR System for commercial distribution. (Compl. ¶8;

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Bluebook (online)
123 F. Supp. 3d 733, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108670, 2015 WL 4984531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-smith-nephew-inc-mdd-2015.