A man with a hip implant who made national news for climbing the stairs of the Willis Tower is facing another health crisis — a defective artificial hip, and he isn’t happy with the company that made the faulty product.
A man with a hip implant who made national news for climbing the stairs of the Willis Tower is facing another health crisis -- a defective artificial hip.
Mark Stephan wasn't even expected to walk again after a 2007 bike accident severed his spine.
Stryker is the company that made the hip Stephan had implanted in 2011. But the product has been recalled because it started to corrode once it was installed.
"The reason it makes me angry is because no person has worked as hard as I have, who had been in a compromised situation to bring myself back," Stephan said. "There are others out there like me, and Stryker needs to be held accountable."
Hurley's attorney, Chris Hurley, says the flaw with the product involved two incompatible metals which corrode and leak into the bloodstream when introduced to a body.
Stephan is filing suit alleging the company failed to test its product adequately before offering them for sale.
"What makes me angry is to see him fight so hard over the years and put back in this situation by a company that made millions of dollars selling a product to people that hasn't been vetted," Hurley said.
Stryker did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Stephan just completed a 3,000 mile cross-country bike trip to benefit the rehab institute that helped him get better.
He faces a choice of going through the painful surgery again to replace the implant, or leave it in and risk liver and kidney damage.
