Johnson & Johnson Settles First DePuy ASR Metal Implant Bellwether Case in California-based Lawsuit Consolidation, Parker Waichman LLP Reports
New York, New York (PRWEB) October 03, 2013 -- Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of victims injured by defective medical devices, is reporting that on Oct. 1, 2013, Johnson & Johnson settled the first bellwether trial against DePuy ASR, a subsidiary that manufactures metal-on-metal hip implants, in a lawsuit consolidation in San Francisco Superior Court (DePuy ASR Hip System Cases; CJC-10-004649, San Francisco Superior Court, Calif.). The Plaintiff in the first bellwether was Robert Eugene Ottman, according to court documents. Settlement details were not available at press time.
“Settlements, especially of bellwether trials, are generally encouraging,” said Daniel C. Burke, Senior Litigation Counsel at Parker Waichman LLP.
Litigation against DePuy is not limited to the consolidated lawsuits in San Francisco Superior Court. Thousands of DePuy ASR lawsuits were filed, according to court documents, in the wake of the implant’s August 2010 recall, as confirmed by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall notice, updated on Jan. 17, 2013. These include a multicounty litigation in New Jersey’s Bergen County Superior Court (entitled In Re: DePuy ASR Hip Implants Litigation, Case No. BER-L-3971-11), as well as a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2197). DePuy also sold a metal-on-metal implant under the Pinnacle brand, which is also facing litigation, such as an MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (MDL No. 3:11-md-02244).
According to a Jan. 17, 2013, FDA safety alert concerning metal-on-metal hip implants, these devices, as a class of medical device, have failed; most all-metal implants have been recalled and are subject to major litigation; and people implanted with this kind of hip replacement system may experience adverse events after surgery, including:
• Hip dislocation, when the ball of the thighbone (femur) slips out of its socket in the hip bone (pelvis)
• Bone fracture
• Joint infection
• Local nerve damage with numbness/weakness
• Device loosening or breakage
• Difference in leg lengths
• Bone loss (osteolysis)
The FDA also noted that patients should be aware of potential symptoms that may occur after three or more months after surgery, including:
• Pain in the groin, hip or leg
• Swelling at or near the hip joint
• A limp or change in walking ability
• Noise (popping, grinding, clicking or squeaking) from the hip joint
Parker Waichman LLP continues to offer free legal consultations to victims of DePuy ASR and other metal-on-metal hip implant injuries. If you or a loved one experienced premature failure of your implant or other health problems associated with a recalled DePuy ASR Hip Implant or other metal-on-metal hip implant, please contact their office by visiting the firm's DePuy ASR hip implant injury page at yourlawyer.com. Free case evaluations are also available by calling 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636).
Contact:
Parker Waichman LLP
Gary Falkowitz, Managing Attorney
1+(800) LAW-INFO
1+(800) 529-4636
yourlawyer.com
Gary Falkowitz, Parker Waichman LLP, http://yourlawyer.com/, +1 (800) 529-4636, [email protected]
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