Johnson & Johnson DePuy Hip Implant Lawsuit: J&J Knew Design Defects

On January 28th critical information was brought to light on the DePuy ASR hip implant cases and whether J&J had knowledge of the devices propensity to fail. According to reports J&J knew of the design defect persistent in the ASR hip implant unit, but failed to inform potential recipients. As a result the units failed and causing continued pain and suffering amongst those who received it.

Design Defects DePuy ASR Hip Implants

Design defects are applicable to all products designed by that manufacturer. A design defect occurs when the prototype or sample from which the product was designed is incorrectly designed. In cases of the ASR hip implants, the device would make contact to other metal components causing a dislodge of metal or metallic particles to be released into the body. This would in turn cause significant poisoning including metalosis, cobalt poisoning or other harmful effects. In some cases the device would fail entirely requiring multiple revision surgeries to correct the issue. Manufacturers such as Johnson and Johnson are held liable when a device they manufacture fails and causes injuries. This is considered a product liability case, but what makes this case disheartening is that  J&J  actually had some knowledge of the devices likelihood to fail, yet they did nothing about it. In fact they continued to market and distribute the product without any type of consideration for the end user. Any manufacturer that acts this recklessly should be held accountable for the damage caused by the distribution of their defective product.

Value of DePuy Cases

A common question we are often asked is “what is the value of my DePuy implant case?”. While there are no actual settlements as of yet, we can give a range of what these cases will likely settle out for. Although this is not an exact figure and some cases may settle for more or less, it does give a good range for expectation. Recently Johnson and Johnson offered to pay $200,000 per claim to settle out the 10,000 pending lawsuits. However, these offers have been rejected because they do not sufficiently meet the damages suffered by clients. This $200,000 would a decent starting point in assessing what your case may be worth. Of course if your injuries are greater you will have a higher settlement offer from the manufacturer. Manufacturers look at the number of surgeries required, age of the implant recipient, metal or cobalt poisoning levels and other factors in determining the value of the case. While each case is different this benchmark figure will give clients some sense of where there case may settle. If you have received a DePuy hip implant and are now suffering from injuries as a result contact our offices for a free case evaluation. You may be entitled to compensation for the injuries you have sustained.