Johnson & Johnson is Poised To Pay $4 Billion for Injuries Caused by Artificial Hips

I am appalled by some of the symptoms reported by thousands of patients who were given hope by artificial hip implants only to find the side effects of faulty devices compounded their health issues.

Fortunately, there is some justice ahead for these people following reports that Johnson & Johnson is poised to pay more than $4 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against its DePuy unit.

Bloomberg reported it was the “ largest settlement of U.S. legal claims for a medical device.”

It caps a bad year for Johnson & Johnson but the giant drug company will recover. Last month, J&J reported third-quarter net income of $2.98 billion, or $1.04 a share.

That’s more that I can say for some of those people who have reported a wide range of serious and painful health issues from these devices.

The Bloomberg report quoted insiders and made reference to an accord which will resolve more than 7,500 lawsuits in federal and state courts over defective artificial hips.

I have written before about some of the serious health issues linked to these artificial hips.

“As failures mounted, patients complained in lawsuits that the metal-on-metal implant caused dislocations, pain and follow-up surgeries known as revisions. They claimed that debris from the chromium and cobalt device caused tissue death and increased metal ions in the bloodstream,” Bloomberg reported.

These settlements would average about $300,000 for each surgery. It sounds like a lot of money, but many patients may legitimately feel they deserved more for what they have endured.

The devices were the subject of major recalls. Johnson & Johnson recalled 93,000 implants in 2010, including 37,000 in the U.S., after in excess of 12 percent failed within five years of being fitted.

Carl Tobias, a product liability law teacher at the University of Richmond in Virginia, was quoted as saying in the Bloomberg article, the settlement seemed like a lot of money but “there are whole bunch of people who contend these hips caused grievous injuries …so some of them may feel like this isn’t enough compensation for what they’ve gone through.”

If you have suffered terrible side effects from artificial hips, it’s not too late to contact an experienced Virginia injury lawyer.

The Bloomberg article made it clear this expected agreement will not prevent patients whose artificial hips fail in the future from seeking compensation from J&J.

This is not the only type of artificial hip to have been linked to injuries. I have also helped those who have been injured by Stryker hip implants.

If you have been injured by an artificial hip or another surgical device call our Virginia Beach defective products lawyers for a free consultation at 757.455.0077.