Johnson & Johnson is Ordered to pay $8 Million in First DePuy Artificial Hip Case

In a ruling with potential implications for hundreds of thousands of Americans, a Los Angeles jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy orthopedic unit to pay more than $8 million in damages at the end of the first trial of nearly 11,000 lawsuits filed over the company’s defective artificial metal hips.

Reuters described the verdict as “mixed.” While the Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that the hips were defective, it said DePuy did not act with fraud or malice.

DePuy was ordered to pay in excess of $338,000 in medical costs and $8 million for pain and suffering to plaintiff Loren Kransky. The jury did not award punitive damages.

The litigation is likely to leave Johnson & Johnson, one of the biggest healthcare companies in the world, facing a large payout. As many as 500,000 people received metal on metal hips and many of them have failed leaving them with painful and debilitating complications.

As a Virginia Beach injury lawyer I have clients who have been hurt by these hip replacements. Although Johnson & Johnson is likely to be footing a large bill, this is a company that boasts annual revenue of about $70 billion. According to reports it has set aside $3 billion for these lawsuits.

Reuters reported injury layers for other plaintiffs said the verdict, in the first suit filed by a retired Montana prison guard who is suffering from kidney cancer and other complaints, bodes well for other cases.

DePuy recalled these metal on metal hips in 2010, as it became clear the devices were failing at higher-than-expected rates. Some 93,000 ASR hips were sold prior to the recall.

Last year I reported on evidence that Johnson & Johnson appeared to have ignored warning signs over the artificial metal DePuy hips for more than two years before the recall.

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The Norfolk, VA based personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley with client meeting locations in Virginia Beach and Hampton, handles automobile, truck, and motorcycle injuries as well as wrongful death, railroad injury cases and medical malpractice. Attorneys John Cooper and Jim Hurley have more than 40 years of combined experience in specializing in auto injury as well as other accident claims. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA. Our motto is: “Your Injury. Our fight.” If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us at (757) 455 -0077 or contact us through this website.