With a Monday, January 6, 2014 deadline looming for people looking to avail of a multibillion-dollar DePuy ASR settlement deadline, many of those who were forced to undergo revision surgery to replace their faulty hip implants are rushing to meet the deadline to register their claim. That said, there will be another filing date so even if you aren’t ready just yet, you should still speak with an experienced Boston hip implant defect law firm to find out whether you have grounds for a Massachusetts products liability case.
To qualify for this settlement, your revision surgery would need to have taken place by August 31, 2013. Each plaintiff is to get $250,000 plus additional compensation depending on what other costs and damages they incurred. (Reductions, however, will also be factored in if a patient had his/her device for longer than five years.)
According to The New York Times, Johnson & Johnson, of which DePuy is a subsidiary, has put aside over $2.5 billion for these hip implant cases alone. Some 8,000 patients in the US who had to have their all-metal artificial hip implants taken out and replaced are expected to qualify for this deal. That said, there are still thousands of other patients who were also impacted by these faulty Articular Surface Replacement devices and do not qualify.
Some 93,000 patients globally were implanted with the ASR product-for either traditional hip replacement or for hip resurfacing, which is an alternative procedure. While artificial hips are supposed to last at least 15 years, DePuy was forced to recall its ASR devices nearly four years ago in the wake of rising device failure rates, with many patients having to undergo revision surgery within five years of getting their device.
Earlier this year, a jury told DePuy to pay one man $8 million in damages because the design of the ASR implant he was given was was defective. A jury in another DePuy hip implant case ruled in favor of the hip implant maker.
Hip replacement procedures already come with risks. Many people who require such devices tend to be elderly, which means they may have other issues that can up the chances of complications even without their implant device being faulty. To have to undergo yet another procedure and once more risk exposure to infection and other health issues can be dangerous-not to mention the toll and time it can take to learn how to use yet another hip implant.
Patients who had to undergo revision surgery from a DePuy hip implant device may have found that they experienced swelling, pain, or problems walking because their device came loose. Bone fracture and dislocation also may have happened. There were also concerns about metal poisoning.
Please contact Altman & Altman, LLP. Our Massachusetts defective medical device law firm represents hip implant defect patients and their families.
Johnson & Johnson in Deal to Settle Hip Implant Lawsuits, The New York Times, January 19, 2013
J&J Must Pay $8.3 Million Over Defective Hip, Jury Says, Bloomberg, March 8, 2013
More Blog Posts:
Defective Medical Device?: DePuy Hip Replacement Recall Leads to Products Liability Lawsuits, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 29, 2010
Johnson & Johnson Settles First Three DePuy Hip Implant Lawsuits for $600,000, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 25, 2012
Another Zimmer Hip Implant Lawsuit Blames Faulty Medical Device for Femur Fractures, Massachusetts Drug Injury Lawyer Blog, October 31, 2012