A federal judge has ruled the Restatement (Second) of Torts bars strict liability claims for medical devices, even though the treatise does not specifically say so.

U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon of the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissed most of plaintiff Roy R. Cogswell's claims in his suit against Wright Medical Technology Inc., the maker of Cogswell's hip implant. Cogswell alleged a Wright Hip System installed during his hip replacement was defective and caused him to suffer serious medical complications.

Wright argued Cogswell's strict liability claims were barred under the Second Restatement. Cogswell retorted the Second Restatement—specifically Comment k, which states that some products are “unavoidably unsafe”—only bars strict liability claims relating to prescription drugs, not medical devices.