A settlement that could reach as much as $4 billion in worth has been tentatively agreed to by the Johnson & Johnson company. Still awaiting court approval, the prospective plan is aimed at resolving the thousands of lawsuits that have been filed by patients who were injured by the company’s all-metal replacement hip implant. If it’s approved by the court, the settlement will be among the largest of any product liability claim payouts that involve a medical device.
The product in question is the Articular Surface Replacement (A.S.R.), which has since been removed and subsequently replaced with an alternative artificial hip in many of the patients who were originally implanted. Lawsuits related to the A.S.R. total about 12,000, at least 7,000 or 8,000 of which are believed to have actually involved hip replacement. If the settlement goes through, each of these patients could be looking at about $350,000 in compensation – an amount that could vary depending on personal factors such as the patient’s age and / or medical condition. The plan caters only to persons whose hips were actually replaced. Anyone who did not undergo hip implantation will not be entitled to compensation under this settlement.
About the A.S.R. hip implant:
- Sold by DePuy until mid-2010, at which time it was recalled for its early failure rates
- While most artificial hip replacements last for approximately 15 years – sometimes more – the DePuy hip began failing after only a few years
- The DePuy hip replacement is said to shed metallic debris as it wears, in turn generating particles in patients’ bodies and causing tissue damage and / or serious injuries
- Internal projections from DePuy have estimated that the hip implant will fail in approximately 40% of patients within 5 years – this rate is 8 times the amount of many other similar products
First introduced to the market in 2003, A.S.R. has since been implanted in about 93,000 patients, approximately one-third of whom were United States citizens. Reports indicate that although design problems with the product were first seen in England and Australia, DeDpuy officials continued to market the product, even promoting it to surgeons who questioned / complained about the product’s effects on patients. A report from The New York Times showed that the company officially decided to phase out the A.S.R. product in 2009, but continued to sell existing inventories despite questioning by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The thousands of lawsuits that currently exist against Johnson & Johnson regarding the DePuy hip implant product are mounting. If you or someone you love were seriously injured from an A.S. R. hip replacement, contact a California defective medical device attorney at The Senators Firm as soon as possible. Our experienced team of personal injury lawyers is prepared to help you seek compensation for your pain and suffering.
Call us toll-free at (949) 557-5800. We can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.