Two weeks have passed since the $8.3 million decision handed down by a jury for a plaintiff that brought a lawsuit against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP was deeply involved in those proceedings, which stemmed from allegations surrounding the DePuy ASR metal on metal hip implant. Although the plaintiff achieved victory in that case, his was only the first of as many as 10,750 lawsuits currently awaiting trial.
The second such trial is currently underway in Chicago. In that case, a woman had to submit to a revision surgery just three years after implantation of the DePuy ASR XL. DePuy’s president took to the stand and explained that a failure to meet clinical expectations and an unacceptable revision rate were what led the company to issue a recall.
Lawyers also asked the president about a DePuy Health Hazard/Risk Evaluation Review Board document. Bearing the signatures of top DePuy officials, the document states that the recall was issued for being a defective product whose performance could be affected and which could lead to health problems.
A lawyer for Johnson & Johnson has disputed the idea that the issuance of a recall is tantamount to admitting the presence of a defect. Still, concerns about a heightened revision rate and the device’s effect on metal levels in the blood continue to plague the company.