DePuy Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Litigation Updates

MDL No. 2244, Northern District of Texas

In October 2014, a Dallas jury heard the first of more than 7,000 pending DePuy Pinnacle hip implant cases to be tried.  After an 8-week trial and 3 days of deliberation, the jury found for DePuy. Specifically, jurors in the federal court concluded that the Pinnacle implant’s design was not the cause of the failure and DePuy was not liable to the Plaintiff.

Johnson & Johnson presented a vigorous defense, arguing that design flaws in the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant did not cause the Plaintiff’s injuries; rather, surgeon error was to blame for the Plaintiff’s ailments.  The defense also argued that the metal-on-metal DePuy Pinnacle hip implant had been thoroughly tested and closely monitored for design defects and that the company properly marketed the device.

Just four months after the jurors reached a defense verdict in the first DePuy Pinnacle Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Bellwether Trial, the court overseeing this multidistrict litigation, Judge Ed Kinkeade, ordered 10 cases to be prepared for Bellwether Trials in 2015.  At the time, all cases in the MDL remain stayed, pending further Order of the Court following completion of the bellwether trials or for good cause shown.

DePuy Pinnacle Settlement

On December 1, 2016, Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) and its DePuy Orthpaedics unit was ordered by a federal jury in Dallas, Texas to pay over $1 billion for their defective Pinnacle hip implants. The jury found J&J liable on claims of fraudulent concealment, negligent failure to warn, strict liability failure to warn, failure to recall, negligent design defect, intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation. The verdict includes $32 million in compensatory damages and over $500 million in punitive damages.

If you have a DePuy Pinnacle Hip and are in need of information about settlements, contact Pope McGlamry today.


DePuy ASR Hip Litigation Update

MDL No.  2197, Northern District of Ohio

JCCP No. 4649 Superior Court of California San Francisco

Recently, the Settlement Oversight Committee and DePuy Orthopaedics announced to the Court an agreement which would effectively extend the existing U.S. Settlement Program to eligible claimants who had revision surgery on or before January 31, 2015.  This extension also extends to those eligible claimants who previously opted out of the previously announced Settlement Program.

The terms of this new settlement are almost identical to the terms of the prior U.S. Settlement Program.  The settlement program offers eligible claimants a “Base” award under what is termed “Part A.”  Additionally, some claimants who can demonstrate that they have extraordinary injuries related to their ASR may receive a supplemental award amount under what is termed “Part B” or extraordinary injury fund.  The enrollment deadline for the U.S. Settlement Program, Round 2, is May 1, 2015.

For claimants who were previously eligible to participate in the U.S. Settlement Program and have opted-in, the Plaintiffs’ Settlement Oversight Committee and DePuy have begun paying partial interim Part B EIF Benefits for certain EIF injuries.  Specifically,   Matrix Level I Re-Revisions; Matrix Level II PE/DVT, Dislocation, and Foot Drop; Matrix Level IV Myocardial Infarction; Matrix Level V Stroke; Matrix Level VI Death, and Matrix Level VII Liner Re-Revisions.

If you have a DePuy ASR Hip and are in need of information about settlements, contact Pope McGlamry today.

DePuy ASR Settlement

On November 19, 2013, a $2.5 billion settlement program meant to compensate injured patients was announced in the DePuy ASR Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Litigation. The DePuy ASR settlement program was designed to compensate approximately 8,000+ patients who experienced metal ion toxicity attributable to metal ion wear from the DePuy Hip Implant and who underwent hip revision surgery to replace the defective device. The settlement program has since expanded to include additional claimants who underwent subsequent revision surgeries and may exceed $4 billion in amount after all claimants have been properly compensated.

Having Issues With a DePuy Hip Implant? Contact Us.

If you have experienced undue pain and complications with a DePuy hip replacement implant, you may have a personal injury case against DePuy.  Contact Pope McGlamry at 877-285-7656 or submit a case evaluation online to schedule a complimentary legal consultation.

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