Hiring an Experienced DePuy Hip Lawyer

Thousands of people across the country who have suffered serious injuries after receiving a hip replacement device manufactured by DePuy (a subsidiary of pharmaceutical & medical device giant Johnson & Johnson) have reached out to a DePuy hip lawyer to learn more about their legal options. It is estimated that well over 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against DePuy over allegedly faulty or malfunctioning hips, including the Pinnacle and ASR models. Plaintiffs in these cases have made claims for defective design, breach of warranty, negligence, and fraudulent representation of the product’s safety, among others.

A qualified product liability attorney can help injured patients pursue compensation for medical expenses related to their injuries, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, and more.

DePuy hip recall

Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of prosthetic hips, manufactured the ASR XL Acetabular and ASR Hip Resurfacing systems between 2003 and 2010. The DePuy Orthopaedics unit of Johnson & Johnson recalled the DePuy ASR devices in 2010 based on reports that the implants, which have a metal ball and a metal cup, shed metallic debris as they wear, generating particles that damage tissue in some patients or cause crippling injuries.

Johnson & Johnson pulled the implant from the market after data showed it failed sooner than older implants. The ASR devices were sold for eight years to approximately 35,000 people in the United States, and more than 90,000 people worldwide. Johnson & Johnson stopped making the products in 2009. Company documents indicate that company officials were aware of problems with the devices as far back as 2008. Company documents also indicated that more than one third of the implants were expected to fail within five years of their implantation. Orthopedic hips generally last between 10 to 20 years.

Patients accuse the company of selling faulty products and have filed approximately 12,000 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson based on their injuries.

The ASR settlement

In November of 2013, Johnson & Johnson agreed to settle thousands of the ASR product lawsuits brought by hip replacement patients against the company’s DePuy Orthopaedics unit. The settlement will only affect the two ASR products. The agreement, which was presented to the Multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio, is one of the largest for the medical device industry. It could resolve an estimated 8000 cases brought by patients who have had one of the ASR the implants removed or replaced. The deal provides roughly $250,000 per plaintiff. Settlements could cost the company upwards of $4 billion.

In January of 2014, Judge David A. Katz, the federal judge presiding over the MDL issued a new order indicating that the settlement only applied to those plaintiffs who signed up or agreed to the terms of the settlement.

How DePuy hip attorneys can help

An experienced attorney is essential to help each claimant determine the best course possible for settlement or trial. Whether a claimant resolves to pursue a settlement or follow a case through to trial is a decision which should not be made without the help of a qualified and experienced attorney.

A lawyer’s job is to consult with you in this important step and help you make this important decision.

When selecting a DePuy hip lawyer, keep the following in mind:

• If you decide to settle your case, an experienced attorney is essential to secure the highest possible settlement amount. Although a certain sum has been reserved for the number of plaintiffs involved in the ASR settlement, the actual amount will vary depending on a particular plaintiff’s health concerns, weight, age and whether they had one or more surgeries to replace the DePuy device. Thus, the approximate $250,000 sum is only the average amount which has been reserved per plaintiff.
• One case may be much more valuable than another, particularly if the claimant had more than one revision, or if the claimant had complications from the revision. These issues should be analyzed and evaluated for trial or settlement purposes by a qualified DePuy hip attorney to ensure the utmost recovery is reached.
• The manufacturer’s attorneys, nurses and paralegals are experienced in examining medical records and will examine each plaintiff’s file to find medical conditions and issues for purposes of reducing the settlement amount or the verdict amount on a per capita basis. An experienced DePuy hip lawyer is equally experienced at finding medical records to support the plaintiff’s position to increase and substantiate the value of the plaintiff’s case.

Remaining DePuy hip cases

The settlement does not affect all suits pending against Johnson & Johnson or its subsidiary, DePuy. Approximately four thousand ASR lawsuits remain in the federal MDL which are comprised of suits filed by plaintiffs who did not have the revision surgery, but who will need revisions in the future. These cases were filed in the MDL for coordinated handling and to streamline the cases for discovery and pre-trial proceedings.

The remaining MDL ASR claims were filed by claimants who fear that they need revisions in the future. There are also patients who have not filed lawsuits but who plan to file lawsuits. As noted above, approximately 35,000 devices were implanted in the United States alone, and new lawsuits are being filed on a continual basis.

Further, approximately 3,000 lawsuits are pending against Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy unit regarding the Pinnacle hip implant device. The Pinnacle, which was approved by the FDA in 2000, comes with several options for the ball and socket surfaces, including ceramic-on-ceramic, ceramic-on-metal and metal-on-metal, as well as metal-on-polyethylene.

Studies have shown that failure rate for the Pinnacle is not as high as the ASR devices. Yet all three devices are linked to metal poisoning. The Pinnacle MDL litigation is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and the first “bellwether” Pinnacle hip trial — intended to test the waters in regard to the strengths and weaknesses of the plaintiffs’ claims — started in September 2014.

How a DePuy hip lawyer can help

DePuy is a multimillion dollar company and can afford to fight the cases currently pending across the country. Claimants need attorneys which are experienced in complex medical device litigation, and who are prepared to fight back with strength, integrity and expertise.

Experienced lawyers are essential if you do not settle and if you choose to take your case to trial. Your attorney should have considerable trial skills and a proven record before juries to assure you of the best outcome possible.