DePuy Metal Hip Implant Lawsuits Help: Resource4thePeople Reports Billions in Settlements Considered as Key Trial Approaches
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 07, 2013 -- http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivemedicaldevices/DePuy-ASR-hip-implant.html
Resource4thePeople is informing consumers today about a key development that has recently occurred involving thousands of lawsuits alleging that DePuy Orthopaedics metal-on-metal hip implants failed and caused serious side effects.
In the days leading up to the first bellwether trial* from thousands from across the country consolidated before a federal judge, Bloomberg News is reporting that DePuy’s parent company, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, is considering offering billions of dollars to settle many of the cases.
The Aug. 21, 2013 Bloomberg report** said that Johnson & Johnson may be seeking to resolve as many as 11,500 lawsuits in the U.S. and has considered paying more than $300,000 per case, which Bloomberg reported, would exceed $3 billion if most plaintiffs accept the terms, an amount 50 percent larger than that proposed in previous discussions.
“This is an extraordinary amount of money and demonstrates the financial exposure which DePuy may face over these allegations involving serious health problems from thousands of hip implant victims,” said Resource4thePeople.
“The outcome of these bellwether trials may put even more pressure on Johnson & Johnson to settle cases. These are among the factors involved in this litigation that we are providing to consumers who are taking advantage of our national network of attorneys’ offer of free consultation over DePuy hip implant claims.”
Bloomberg reported that Johnson & Johnson is pushing to resolve U.S. cases by early next year, according to sources within the company.
“J&J’s DePuy unit recalled 93,000 implants in 2010, including 37,000 in the U.S., after more than 12 percent failed within five years,” reported Bloomberg. “That rate is climbing, along with suits by patients blaming the chromium and cobalt devices for pain, metal debris and replacement surgeries.”
Most of the federal cases*** are consolidated under U.S. District Judge David Katz from the Northern District of Ohio, who has scheduled the first DePuy bellwether from this litigation to be tried Sept. 9, 2013 at the U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
The case involves claims by a New York woman who is seeking damages for serious health problems she claims she suffered as a result of a 2009 DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant that she alleges failed soon afterward, according to the court file.
“Bellwether cases are selected because they typify the majority of the cases involved and provide lawyers from both sides the opportunity to test the strengths and weaknesses of their cases before juries,” said Resource4thePeople.
“We will follow this case and report key updates to consumers as well as other developments in other litigation involving allegations over DePuy metal-on-metal hip implants while continuing to offer consultations to consumers who may have been affected by these products.”
Resource4thePeople said the fact that a bellwether case has been chosen does not prevent other consumers from seeking information about what legal rights they may have to seek compensation for injuries suffered from metal hip implants.
“Many consumers still may be eligible to file such a lawsuit but all cases are different and there may be legal time limits involved so it is important that consumers seek consultations about the merits of their metal hip implant claims as soon as possible.”
The allegations involved in the huge multidistrict litigation*** underway in Ohio are described on the litigation website:
“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.”
Bloomberg reported that Judge Katz is overseeing about 8,000 federal cases consolidated before him for the pre-trial collection of evidence and “there are also about 2,000 cases pending in a California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding before Judge Richard Kramer in San Francisco. Trials also are scheduled in state courts in San Francisco in October; in Hackensack, New Jersey, in October and January; in West Palm Beach, Florida, in November; in Chicago in December; and in Los Angeles in January.”
Meanwhile, Resource4thePeople is reporting that another key trial has been scheduled from over 600 such state court cases**** which make similar allegations against DePuy systems in New Jersey state court.
Court files in the litigation show that an Oct. 21, 2013 trial date for the state bellwether trial has been scheduled by Judge Brian R. Martinotti, who was assigned to oversee pre-trial evidence-gathering and other legal actions in that consolidated litigation.
"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,” said Resource4thePeople.
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:
*McCracken v. DePuy, Case # 1:11dp20485, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
**http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/j-j-said-to-weigh-3-billion-settlement-of-its-hip-implant-cases.html
***In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL-2197, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
****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
Bill Callahan, iLawSuit, +1 (858) 602-2749, [email protected]
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