Latest DePuy Hip Implant Failures Lawsuits Allegations Update: Resource4thePeople Reports Key Trial Scheduled In DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Implant Systems Consolidated Cases
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 17, 2013 -- http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivemedicaldevices/DePuy-ASR-hip-implant.html
Resource4thePeople is informing consumers today that another key trial* has been scheduled over consolidated lawsuits in which plaintiffs are claiming that DePuy Orthopaedics metal-on-metal hip implants failed and caused serious side effects.
The trial has been scheduled by a New Jersey Superior Court judge who is coordinating over 600 such state court cases which make similar allegations against DePuy systems which have been since recalled by DePuy's parent company, Johnson & Johnson.
Court files in the litigation show that an Oct. 21, 2013 trial date for the "bellwether" trial has been scheduled by Judge Brian R. Martinotti, who was assigned to oversee pre-trial evidence-gathering and other legal actions in the consolidated litigation.
"We are encouraged that these cases continue to progress to trial and that Judge Martinotti has scheduled a bellwether trial in which both sides will have the opportunity to test the strength and weaknesses of their cases before a jury," said Resource4thePeople.
"These cases involve serious allegations by hundreds of plaintiffs that these metal-on-metal hip implants, which have since been recalled by the manufacturer, failed and caused severe pain, infections and other side effects."
Resource4thePeople also announced that even as this litigation progresses, its national network of attorneys will continue to offer consumers free consultations about their rights to seek compensation over such allegations.
The setting of the Oct. 21, 2013 bellwether trial comes after 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.
Bloomberg News reported** May 17, 2013 that company officials said the decision to halt sales was not caused by a massive 2010 recall of the company's ASR metal-on-metal hip systems or more than 10,000 lawsuits that have been filed over allegations that the systems were defectively designed.
Johnson & Johnson's decision to halt sales will not affect Resource4thePeople's continued review of new cases over allegations that DePuy metal-on-metal hip implants caused serious side effects.
"The company's decision does not affect the legal rights of consumers to seek compensation for side effects that they allege were caused by metal-on-metal hip implant systems that are the subject of the New Jersey cases and another huge multi-district litigation***** underway in Ohio," said Resource4thePeople.
"We have been receiving numerous inquiries from consumers about whether the deadline for them to seek a free legal consultation about their allegations has passed.
"The answer to that question is no and anyone who had an ASR metal system implanted is encouraged to contact us as soon as possible for an evaluation of their legal options."
In its posting, Bloomberg reported that "metal-on-metal hip sales in the U.S. and Europe plunged from 20 percent of the market in 2007 to less than 2 percent last year as doctors questioned their safety and patients filed lawsuits citing flawed products. The global hip-implant market may be $5.7 billion in 2013, according to Lawrence Biegelsen, an analyst at Wells Fargo in New York. U.S. regulators earlier this year requested extensive study of all metal-on-metal hips."
In the first U.S. trial*** involving the DePuy metal systems allegations, a Los Angeles jury found on March 8, 2013 that DePuy and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson must pay a Montana man $8.3 in damages on a finding that the DePuy ASR system was defectively designed.
Jurors awarded damages to Loren Kransky, a 65-year-old former prison guard who claimed he suffered serious health problems after an ASR system failed and metal debris was spread through his body, according to the court file.
Kransky had an ASR hip implanted in 2007 and was forced to have it replaced in 2012 after suffering pain and infections from the metal infecting his blood and nearby tissues, according to the court file.
In their court filings, Kransky’s lawyers filed allegations that DePuy was negligent because their research staff did not use a variety of angulations in testing the ASR metal cup and only tested one of several sizes.
Then, a Chicago jury**** returned a verdict in favor of DePuy Orthopaedics and against a woman who claimed DePuy metal-on-metal hip implant systems were defectively designed and that the company failed to warn patients of serious side effects that could be caused by the devices.
The Chicago trial involved allegations filed by Carol Strum, a 54-year-old Illinois nurse, who sought damages over her claims that an ASR hip system manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy was defectively designed.
Strum’s lawyer told jurors that the metal-on-metal hip implant failed after three years and she had to undergo replace surgery because DePuy failed to warn of the risks of the ASR, which J&J recalled in August 2010, according to an April 16, 2013 Bloomberg News report.******
"Each metal-on-metal hip implant trial involves unique sets of facts and different juries returned different verdicts," said Resource4thePeople. "There are still thousands of cases in this litigation in which victims are waiting to present their claims before a jury and we will continue to monitor these results for consumers."
Sources:
*In Re: DePuy ASR Hip Implants Litigation, BER-L-3971-11, Superior Court, Bergen County, New Jersey
**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.
*****In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL-2197, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Bill Callahan, iLawSuit, 858 602-2749, [email protected]
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