Tens of thousands of torn or ruptured ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries occur every year in the United States and often require painful reconstructive knee surgery to replace the ligament. In 2006, surgeons began using what was supposed to be a revolutionary new product called the Calaxo ACL screw. However, it just didn't work.

What is the ACL?

The anterior cruciate ligament stabilizes the knee, controls frontwards and backwards movement and prevents hyperextension and excessive rotation of the knee joint. The ligament runs from the tibia, or shin bone, of the lower leg through the center of the knee joint to the femur, or thigh bone, and injuries are common.

ACL Injuries

While most people think that ACL injuries are most common among athletes while skiing or playing basketball or soccer, the truth is that about 80% of ACL tears occur from non-contact activity and are the result of simply turning, landing or moving the wrong way. Tens of thousands of ACL injuries occur every year in the United States and women are more susceptible to injuring their ACL than men.

Victim of a broken Calaxo ACL Screw? You may have a lawsuit. Click here, for a top rated law firm to evaluate your legal rights. [Sponsored link]

ACL Repair

Repairing the ACL requires reconstructive surgery to replace the torn or ruptured ligament. Surgeons will often harvest ligaments from another area of the patient's body and use a screw to secure a ligament graft in place and allow new blood vessels to grow directly into the ligament graft. Metal screws were traditionally used, but often had to be surgically removed afterward.

Manufacturer Smith & Nephew designed a bio-absorbable polymer and calcium carbonate device that was created to promote bone growth and reabsorb more rapidly in the body and provide patients with a quicker recovery time. Having the screw absorb into the body meant not having to undergo another surgery. Good news, right? No really.

Calaxo ACL Screws Didn't Work

Smith & Nephew's Calaxo Osteoconductive Interference Screw, or Calaxo Bone Screw, was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 2006. Unfortunately, the screws were recalled about a year and half later because patients were complaining of continual pain, excessive swelling in the tibial area, fever, pockets of fluid build up, redness and swelling around the incision site and screw fragmentation – which are symptoms of pre-tibial soft tissue swelling and often result in follow up surgery to have a new screw inserted.

Numerous product liability lawsuits have been filed against the ACL bone screw manufacturer alleging that the screw was defectively designed and not adequately tested before being released into the marketplace. If you've been injured by the Calaxo Bone Screw, contact an experienced defective product attorney to discuss your situation. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries such as lost income, medical bills and pain and suffering.

Victim of a broken Calaxo ACL Screw? You may have a lawsuit. Click here, for a top rated law firm to evaluate your legal rights. [Sponsored link]