A state case regarding the recalled DePuy ASR hip replacement system is scheduled to go to trial in January 2013 in Prince George’s County, Maryland. If DePuy does not settle with plaintiffs before trials begin, the Maryland court will hear three cases regarding health complications related to DePuy’s ASR hip implants.
In August 2012, DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, settled state cases in Nevada regarding defective ASR hip replacement lawsuits. Trials for these ASR hip replacement cases filed against DePuy were scheduled to begin in December 2012, but due to the settlement, trial dates have since been canceled. The individuals in each Nevada case received $200,000 each, according to a Bloomberg News report.
In 2010, due to what they claimed to be poor sales as opposed to the escalating reports of ASR hip replacement failures, Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy initiated a worldwide recall of 93,000 ASR hip replacement systems. Ultimately, DePuy admitted that the recall was the result of the high ASR hip replacement failure rate.
Individuals who have filed lawsuits against DePuy have claimed that DePuy’s defective ASR hip replacement system resulted in numerous painful revision surgeries, severe pain, dislocated joints, joint malfunction and dislocation, infection, bone fractures, and metallosis. Plaintiffs claim that the unique design of the ASR hip replacement, being a metal-on-metal total hip replacement, led to an accumulation of metal flakes inside of the body.
6,000 DePuy ASR hip replacement lawsuits have been consolidated into a Multi-District Litigation based in Toledo, Ohio overseen by U.S. District Judge David A. Katz. There are another 2,000 cases filed against Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy in states across the U.S., including those in Nevada, Maryland, California, Wisconsin, Florida, and Utah.
The MDL No. 2197 based in Ohio is due to convene for a Status Conference in January 2013, during which time the court will most likely detail preparations for the first bellwether trials scheduled to begin in May 2013.
To file a DePuy ASR hip replacement lawsuit, contact an experienced defective medical device lawyer at Carey Danis & Lowe.
