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Thousands of hip replacements injured patients who received a defective DePuy ASR hip implant, will begin receiving payments in the next few months. Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics subsidiary agreed to pay out at least $2.4 billion to settle claims.

According to a report, 98.3% of those eligible to participate in the settlement have enrolled in the program, which will fully resolve their current claims. The report states that the first payments should begin in the coming month.

DePuy will pay Medical Bills

DePuy is also settling medical reimbursement lawsuits filed by states who say that the medical device manufacturer defrauded their Medicare and Medicaid programs by selling a defective product.

Recently, the Oregon Department of Justice announced that it had reached a $4 million settlement with DePuy over allegations that the companying knew the ASR hip replacement systems were defective when it sold them. Oregon is the first state to settle over the ASR recall.

DePuy ASR Recall August 2010

A DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement system recall was announced in August 2010, after medical reports indicated that about one out of every eight would fail within five years. According to experts, more recent data has suggested that the DePuy hip failure rate may be 35% to 45% range.

The plaintiffs allege that DePuy designed and sold a defective and unreasonably dangerous hip implant. The metal-on-metal design caused the release of metallic debris by the grinding of metal components against each other during normal activity. This release of metal, particularly Cobalt and Chromium is known as metallosis and can lead to premature failure of the hip joint.

Settlement Still Ongoing

Some patients have rejected the settlement offer and those who have not had to have their DePuy ASR hip replaced prior to August 2013 will still continue to litigate their claims.

Folks who have their hips fail in the future will be able to seek compensation through new lawsuits.

DePuy ASR Trials

Two DePuy ASR cases were tried before the global settlement was announced. A California state jury awarding $8.3 million in damages earlier this year and a second trial in Illinois state court resulting in a defense verdict.

 

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