The New York Times reports that a tentative deal has been reached to settle thousands of DePuy hip implant lawsuits. The lawsuits were filed against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics, alleging premature failure of DePuy’s ASR metal-on-metal hip implants. The settlement, which still requires court approval, could reach up to $4 billion dollars.
Approximately 12,000 hip implant lawsuits have been filed against DePuy Orthopaedics. DePuy recalled the implants in mid-2010.
According to the New York Times, the average settlement will be approximately $350,000 per person, although some people will receive much more and some much less, depending on their individual injuries.
The pending DePuy hip implants lawsuits allege that the implants have a very high failure rate and fail much earlier then other hip implants. As a result patients who received a DePuy hip implant must have revision surgery to replace the failed hip.
DePuy’s internal projections estimated that up to 40% of patients would require revision surgery within 5 years of the original implant. In addition, the hip implant lawsuits allege that the metal-on-metal parts shed metal particles into the bloodstream, causing numerous injuries.
The proposed settlement will compensate people who had a DePuy hip implant and subsequently had to have it removed and replaced. Although this will settle many of the pending hip implant lawsuits against DePuy, many hip implant lawsuits are still pending in state and federal courts.
DePuy is also facing hip implant lawsuits related to its Pinnacle hip device. In addition there are pending lawsuits involving other types of hip implants including the Stryker hip implant.
If you or a loved one received a hip implant, you may be eligible for compensation. An experienced attorney will be able to evaluate your case and determine if a hip implant lawsuit is right for you. Contact Lopez McHugh, LLP for a free case evaluation.
