Bowing of the thin piece of aluminum above the latch release is a common occurrence, and is often related to stress or damage on another area of the bottom case - this is the weakest portion of the bottom case, so the force tends to travel to it.
It is not too difficult to loosen the top case, lift it up, and work the bent piece back into shape. You will not make much progress without moving the top case out of the way first (there is a bit of a rim which will prevent you from moving the aluminum in enough otherwise). Be sure to use something soft, like a wooden tongue depressor or medium hardness plastic spudger.
Take a look at the following ifixit take-apart:
MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Models A1226 and A1260 Upper Case Replacement
You can stop when you finish step 8, and simple rest the top case against the display. There is no need to remove the top case completely.
crwdns2934105:0crwdne2934105:0
crwdns2934113:0crwdne2934113:0
crwdns2915270:0crwdne2915270:0
crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0
3