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Tuesday, October 21, 2014
DePuy Hip Implants: An Ongoing Saga of Litigation
By: Anna
Blood, Intern
The Cochran
Firm
DePuy sold and marketed the ASR XL total hip
replacement, ASR hip resurfacing system and Pinnacle hip implants as a safe and
effective way for patients to maintain an active lifestyle. Today, many patients
suffer from severe and life-threatening injuries as a result of DePuy’s negligence
in testing and designing of its products.
Since the 2010 recall, thousands of lawsuits have
surmounted against DePuy as patients continue to be adversely affected by the
ASR hip implant system. Plaintiffs generally claim that the products causes them
pain, swelling, infection, damage to bone and tissue and most seriously, chromium
and cobalt metal poising, known as “metallosis.”
In 2012, federal judges presiding over multidistrict
litigation involving DePuy ordered parties to select cases for bellwether
trials to begin in 2013. Courts utilize the bellwether approach when there are a
large number of plaintiffs suing for the same claim or theory.
The first bellwether trial for ASR multidistrict
litigation began in September 2013, in a federal court in Ohio. Under this suit, Johnson & Johnson agreed to
pay $2.5 million to settle approximately 7,500 hip law suits by giving an
average of $250,000 to each plaintiff that was required to removed or replace
their hip implants before August 31, 2013. This suit marked the largest
defective medical device settlement in the history of the U.S.
Under the settlement, the payment by Johnson &
Johnson was to be divided into two pools, with $2 billion going to basic awards
and $475 million covering additional payments to compensate patients who
sustained more significant injuries. Additionally, plaintiffs who smoke, are
overweight, or are older will see reduced payments. Separately, Johnson &
Johnson agreed to pay all medical costs and related procedures. Payouts under this settlement began in June of 2014
and will continue in the future.
Also in 2013, Johnson & Johnson settled
the claims of three Nevada women who received ASR implants from the same
surgeon. These cases were settled in state court for $200,000 each.
Additionally, in California the first in a series of law suits
against Johnson & Johnson concluded with a jury finding for the plaintiff
in the amount of $8.3 million.
More recently, on July 2, 2014 the Oregon Department of Justice
reached a $4 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson. Oregon’s
single-state settlement is the first government action to resolve allegations
that DePuy failed to disclose to physicians and patients that its ASR XL “metal
on metal” artificial hip devices had an alarming rate of failure.
Federal bellwether trials for Pinnacle hip implants are
scheduled to begin in September 2014. DePuy has refused to recall the Pinnacle
Hip even though the metal-on-metal components are similar to the ASR and
instead discontinued its use in 2013. Pinnacle hip patients show clear signs of
metal poisoning known as “metallosis,” pain, swelling, muscle and bone damage.
posted by The Cochran Firm at 3:04 PM
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