DePuy Knee Replacement Lawsuit Settlement Reached in Australia

An Australian judge has approved a settlement agreement for lawsuits filed by individuals who received a recalled DePuy knee replacement, which was sold by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary outside the United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, individuals in Australia who received the DePuy LCS Duofix Femoral knee implant and subsequently had to undergo revision surgery will receive about $31,000 each, according to a report by Bloomberg News. The settlement was approved by Australian Federal Court Justice Robert Buchanan on December 3.

The Duofix was a knee replacement system designed and sold by DePuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson. Although the implant was sold in Australia, the U.K. and other countries, it was never introduced in the United States.

As a result of problems with the DePuy artificial knee, a recall was issued in 2009, amid reports of failures and complications that may have been associated with the design of the implant.

Justice Buchanan approved a settlement in the Australian DePuy knee replacement class action, after reviewing more than 430 inquiries, none of which provided a reason not to approve it, he said in his opinion.

Under terms of the agreement, individuals whose recalled DePuy knee implant failed and caused them to receive two or three follow-up procedures could receive additional compensation; in excess of $65,000. Even more in damages may be awarded in certain cases, to be determined on an individual basis.

DePuy Lawsuits in United States Over Defective Implants

The settlement comes as Johnson & Johnson’s unit faces thousands of lawsuits over DePuy hip replacements in the Unites States, including the DePuy ASR hip and DePuy Pinnacle hip.

The medical device maker recalled the DePuy ASR in August 2010, amid reports that the metal-on-metal system was failing in about 12% to 13% of patients within five years. About 6,000 DePuy ASR lawsuits have been filed throughout the United States by individuals who have experienced problems with their implant.

More than 3,200 DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits have also been filed, raising similar allegations of design defects that caused users to experience problems with their hip implant within a few years after surgery. Although the company has not recalled the DePuy Pinnacle hip, it involves a similar metal-on-metal design and the DePuy ASR was actually submitted to the FDA as a “substantial equivalent” to the Pinnacle.

According to allegations raised in the hip replacement lawsuits, the all metal design causes the release of microscopic metal particles into the body as the parts rub against each other. This can increase the risk of inflammation and metal blood poisoning, known as metallosis.

Manufacturers of other metal-on-metal hip replacement systems face similar claims over problems with their implants, including the Biomet M2A-Magnum hip replacement and Wright Medical Conserve Plus hip.