DePuy Hip Device Lawsuit Moves Along

A class action lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson’s recalled hip replacement is moving forward. According to a report by Bloomberg News, recipients of the DePuy ASR artificial hip replacement will begin going to trial later this year. The attorneys for the plaintiffs met with U.S. District Court Judge David Katz—who is overseeing the multi-district litigation for 4,200 federal lawsuits—to discuss which plaintiffs should represent the group as a whole. Both Johnson & Johnson and the lawyers bringing suit agreed that a “bellwether trial” is appropriate. The purpose of the bellwether trial is to set a precedent, decide whether J & J is responsible, and to determine damages for each case. The case against DePuy is unusually large as J & J has already produced 37 million pages of discovery documents.

According to Johnson and Johnson, they have spent over $800 million to date recalling the ASR hip replacements.

Two more conferences about the case took place in front of Judge Katz on July 25. One of the conferences was a meeting with the Executive committee while the other was an open court conference. Several trials have been scheduled. The first state court case is expected to take place in December in Las Vegas, with the second taking place in Maryland state court in January, and the first federal class action case taking place in March or April.

DePuy Orthopedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, first offered the ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement in the United States in 2005. DePuy recalled all 37,000 of its ASR hip replacements in the United States, and the entirety of the 93,000 handed out worldwide in August 2010. More than 12 percent of the devices have been estimated to have failed within five years. However, other reports have indicated that the failure rate could be as high as 49% within six years. Since the recall over 6,000 people have filed suit. These suits claim damages such as metal debris found in the hips, tissue death around the joints, infections, bone fractures, and blood poisoning from metal ions. DePuy claims to have acted appropriately and responsibly. According to J & J, they have spent over $800 million to date recalling the ASR hip replacements. The defense attorneys for DePuy have already conducted over 22 days of interviews with company employees and have over 32 more days scheduled. Despite professing their innocence, J & J has already set aside $600 million in their liability reserves for the lawsuits against DePuy.

Complications from the DePuy ASR hip replacement reportedly include, but are not limited to, hip pain, difficulty walking, swelling of the hip, loosening of the hip replacement, fracture of the bone around the implant, dislocation or misalignment of multiple parts of the implant. If you or a loved one has had complications from the DePuy ASR hip replacement, it may be beneficial to contact an experienced DePuy hip implant attorney. Injured patients may be eligible to pursue compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Fill out the form on the right for a free, no-obligation case review.