A few weeks ago, a Los Angeles jury handed out an $8.3 million verdict for a Montana man who suffered complications after being implanted with the DePuy ASR metal on metal hip implant. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP was an integral part of those proceedings, in which a case was made that Johnson & Johnson had knowingly put out a defective device and continued to market said device despite repeated remonstrations from surgeons that there could be something wrong with the design.
As a new report shows, that verdict could put pressure on the company to provide a fair settlement to the 4,500 Australians who have joined together as part of a class action lawsuit. Australia actually provided the global community at large with some of the first signs that something was amiss with the DePuy ASR. Although the device was recalled around the world in August 2010, Australia stopped receiving the implants in December 2009. And evidence out of Australia also shows an astonishing 44% failure rate after just seven years of implantation.
That failure requires the user to submit to a painful revision surgery to correct the problem. Australians and people across the world are worried not only about those complications, but about a purported issue wherein metal debris can be shed from the device and cause other health complications.
Although lawyers for the Australian plaintiffs are confident in their ability to obtain compensation, they worry that the country’s strict damages regime could limit the amount of restitution, especially among less seriously injured parties.