DePuy ASR Metal on Metal Hip Settlements

As a Texas medical doctor and DePuy ASR recall and DePuy Pinnacle replacement attorney I am providing this timely update for folks who have been injured by defective metal-on-metal hip replacement implants. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the manufacturer of the DePuy ASR line of metal on metal hips, has agreed to resolve three Nevada cases in the first of many settlements of the defective hp product liability mass tort litigation.

The exact settlement amount remains confidential according to sources but in excess of has been bandied about in idle internet chatter.

DePuy ASR Recall

J&J’s DePuy unit recalled its 93,000 ASR hips worldwide in 2010, including 37,000 in the U.S., after finding that more than 12 percent of the devices failed within five years.

According to the allegations in filed lawsuits, both in federal and state courts, many patients are in pain and immobilized by joint dislocations, infections and bone fractures and have to undergo painful and expensive hip replacement surgeries.

Metal Debris and Metallosis

Patients suing J&J, allege that metal debris is released by the grinding of artificial metal hips, and causes local tissue death around the joint and may increase metal cobalt and chromium ions in the bloodstream.

DePuy Lawsuits

J&J faces more than 8,000 cases alleging the ASR hips are defective. U.S. District Judge David Katz in Toledo, Ohio, is overseeing about 6,000 federal suits that have been consolidated for pretrial evidence gathering. The manufacturer is defending itself in more than 2,000 cases filed in courts in California, Maryland, Nevada and others.

DePuy Las Vegas Nevada Cases

The first settlements involve cases filed in state court in Las Vegas. Claims by Annelise Rundle, Martha Bender and Katherine Guy had been consolidated and set for trial December 3. The women had ASR hip replacements done by the same surgeon and all three later had the artificial hips removed after experiencing side effects.

J&J DePuy Costs Total $800 Million To Date

The company said in January that it spent about $800 million on the recall during the past two years. Next up, J&J faces a state-court trial in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in January involving three hip-replacement recipients. According to experts, it may cost the drugmaker as much as $2 billion to resolve all litigation over DePuy’s ASR hips.

The federal case is In re DePuy Orthopedics Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, 10-MD-2197, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (Toledo).

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DePuy ASR Hip Failure Recall & DePuy Pinnacle Replacement

DePuy ASR Hip Lawsuits Filing Deadline Approaches Posted August 4, 2012, DePuy ASR & Pinnacle Metal Hip Failure Problems Posted on July 13, 2012, Stryker Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II Modular-Neck Hip Stems Recalled Posted July 10, 2012, Biomet M2a Hip Lawsuits Heading to MDL Posted on July 7, 2012, FDA: No Use for Metal-on-Metal Hips Posted June 30, 2012