DePuy ASR Lawsuit Settled Over Recalled Hip Replacement

Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics subsidiary faces thousands of lawsuits over their recalled ASR hip replacement, and it appears that the medical device manufacturer has reached what is believed to be the first settlements in cases brought by individuals who experienced problems with the defective hip implant.

According to multiple reports, the DePuy ASR hip settlements were reached in a lawsuit brought by Anneliese Rundle, Martha Bender and Katherine Guy, which was scheduled to be the first case to be presented to a jury in the United States later this year.

All three plaintiffs alleged that they received a recalled DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement, which subsequently failed and resulted in the need for revision surgery to have the implant removed. The plaintiffs indicated that they suffered permanent injuries from the failed DePuy ASR implant, and the lawsuit sought $20 million plus punitive damages.

Details surrounding the agreement to settle the ASR claims have not been released by either side, but it allows DePuy and Johnson & Johnson to avoid the December trial date in Nevada state court. Additional cases are scheduled throughout 2013.

DePuy ASR Recalled in August 2010 Amid Problems

A DePuy ASR recall was issued in August 2010, after Johnson & Johnson acknowledged that about one out of every 8 implants may fail within five years. However, other reports have suggested that design problems may cause a far greater number of the artificial hips to fail.

Approximately 6,000 people have already filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and their DePuy Orthopaedics subsidiary, alleging that the manufacturers knew or should have known about the problems with the implant’s design.

The DePuy ASR is a metal-on-metal hip replacement system which features chromium and cobalt in it’s ball-and-socket design.  As the metal parts rub against each other, microscopic metal particles may be shed into the body, potentially resulting in metallosis, which may cause the device to loosen or fail, according to allegations raised in the complaints.

DePuy ASR Lawsuits Scheduled for Trial

The lawsuit filed by Rundel, Bender and Guy was scheduled to be the first DePuy ASR case to reach a jury. Following the settlement, the next trial date is scheduled for January 2013 in Maryland.

In the federal court system, all DePuy ASR lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, which is centralized in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The first DePuy ASR trial dates in the federal MDL are scheduled to begin in May and July 2013.

These early trial dates, known as bellwether trials, may promote settlement negotiations in a number of other cases. The parties may face increasing pressure to settle lawsuits as trial dates approach, or the outcome of the trials could be useful in helping the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to the allegations and evidence that will be repeated throughout the litigation.