DePuy Metal Hip Implant Lawyer: Resource4thePeople Reports Huge $4 Billion Settlement Underway

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) November 20, 2013

http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivemedicaldevices/DePuy-ASR-hip-implant.html

Resource4thePeople in its latest update to consumers following metal hip implant litigation involving allegations over recalled metal hip systems produced by DePuy Orthopaedics is reporting news of a multi-billion dollar settlement.

Multiple media outlets have confirmed that DePuy's parent company, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to a tentative settlement of over 8,000 consolidated federal lawsuits* in which payouts of up to $4 billion may be made to resolve the cases.

The New York Times in a Nov. 12, 2013 posting** reported on the huge scope of the proposed settlement saying "The tentative plan, which must win court approval, represents one of the largest payouts for product liability claims involving a medical device."

"This tentative settlement is good news for the thousands of consumers who may have been affected by allegations that these metal-on-metal hip implants known as the Articular Surface Replacement, or ASR systems were flawed and caused serious health problems," said Resource4thePeople.

"Even though this is a tremendous amount of money any consumer who has undergone serious health problems, and in some cases a second hip implant operation, because of these allegations certainly deserves to be compensated for medical expenses and pain and suffering."

Resource4thePeople also announced that as this settlement is being reviewed it will continue to offer free consultations to consumers who may have been affected by DePuy metal hip allegations but have not yet filed a claim.

These devices were the subject of a nationwide recall*** announced on Aug. 24, 2010 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which warned consumers about the dangers of metal-on-metal hip implant systems.

In its announcement, the FDA said "there was a voluntary recall of the DePuy ASR TM total hip system because of new, unpublished data from the UK joint registry indicating the revision rates within 5 years were approximately 13 percent."

The Times, in its settlement report, said that "Many artificial hips last 15 years or more before they wear out and need to be replaced. But by 2008, data from orthopedic databases outside the United States also showed that the A.S.R. was failing at high rates in patients after just a few years."

"Internal DePuy projections estimate that it will fail in 40 percent of those patients in five years, a rate eight times higher than for many other hip devices," the Times also reported.

"The number of cases involving these allegations against the DePuy ASR systems in this federal consolidation* has now climbed to at least 8,330 lawsuits," said Resource4thePeople.

Those figures**** of the number of cases before Judge David A. Katz in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio are documented in the latest reporting period ending Nov. 18, 2013 by the U.S. Panel for Multidistrict Litigation.

"As the number of cases has climbed so have the number of inquiries we have received from consumers about their legal rights to seek compensation," said Resource4thePeople.

The federal cases, and another multidistrict consolidation***** of state cases that now numbers over 600 lawsuits involving the same allegations are progressing on parallel tracks, said Resource4thePeople.

Here is a description****** of the common allegations taken from the federal litigation:

"The actions share factual issues as to whether DePuy’s ASR XL Acetabular Hip System, a device used in hip replacement surgery, was defectively designed and/or manufactured, and whether DePuy failed to provide adequate warnings concerning the device, which DePuy recalled along with another ASR device,3 the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, in August 2010."

Still pending in the federal multidistrict litigation is the scheduling of the first federal trial involving DePuy Orthopaedics metal hip implants, which has been put on hold.

This case******* was filed by a 58-year-old New York woman who is claiming that a DePuy metal hip implant system was defectively designed and caused her to suffer severe injuries, according to the court file.

The case was originally scheduled for trial on September 9, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio, and then rescheduled to Sept. 24, 2013.

"After conferring at length with the trial attorneys handling this matter, the Court has determined that because of the initial continuance of this trial as aforesaid the scheduling of expert witnesses by both parties has become an extremely difficult task," wrote U.S. District Judge David A. Katz in his reschedule notice.

Resource4thePeople also said that claims from consumers involving DePuy products and metal hip implant systems from other manufacturers will continue to be accepted for review by its national network of attorneys.

The first federal bellwether trial involves claims from Ann McCracken of Rochester, N.Y., against DePuy and its parent company, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

According to the court file in her case, McCracken had a DePuy ASR device implanted in her body in August of 2009 and is claiming multiple injuries and two revision hip surgeries.

DePuy’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson on, May 17, 2013******** announced it was halting sales of metal implant products after two trials in which one jury********* awarded a plaintiff $8.3 million in damages and a second trial********** in which a jury found in favor of DePuy.

Sources:
*In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL-2197, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
**http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/business/johnson-and-johnson-said-to-agree-to-4-billion-settlement-over-hip-implants.html
***http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/productsandmedicalprocedures/implantsandprosthetics/metalonmetalhipimplants/ucm241770.htm#2
****http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-November-18-2013.pdf
*****In Re: DePuy ASR Hip Implants Litigation, BER-L-3971-11, Superior Court, Bergen County, New Jersey
******http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov/home/clerk-s-office-and-court-records/multidistrict-litigation-cases/mdl-2197/
*******McCracken v. DePuy, Case # 1:11dp20485, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
********http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/j-j-will-stop-sales-of-metal-on-metal-hip-replacements.html
*********Kransky v. DePuy, BC456086, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County (Los Angeles).
**********Strum v. DePuy, 2011-L-9352, Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois