(757) 333-3333Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay More Than $1 Billion Over Artificial Hip Failure
In one of the biggest dangerous products lawsuit payouts in recent years, Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay more than $1 billion to six people injured by artificial hip failure.
A federal jury in Dallas last week ordered the massive drug company and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay in excess of $1 billion to six plaintiffs who were injured by Pinnacle hip implants, an attorney for the plaintiffs said.
The jurors concluded that the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants were defectively designed and that the companies failed to warn consumers about the risks.
This bellwether artificial hip failure trial may open the way for more big payouts to people who suffered terrible injuries from these artificial hips.
As I wrote in a blog more than two years ago, the manufacturers of these devices have been paying out for injuries caused by metal-shedding artificial hips for some time.
DePuy recalled metal on metal hips back 2010. The devices failed at higher-than-expected rates. Some 93,000 of its ASR hips were sold prior to the recall.
Metal particles migrating from these devices into the body has caused severe health issues for some people who receive implants including:
- Serious joint pain
- Implant failure resulting in further surgeries
- The growth of cysts or pseudotumors
- Loosening of the implants
- Localized tissue necrosis
- Deterioration of the bone around the hip implant
- Osteolysis
There have been cases of complications such as amputation and even death from surgical complications in these cases.
It’s worth noting that $30 million was awarded in actual damages and $1 billion in punitive damages in the Texas case. In other words, the jury wanted to punish Johnson & Johnson for causing so much misery, injury, and pain with a product that was meant to alleviate it.
People who have been injured by the premature failure of artificial hips are still coming forward. Aside from the Johnson & Johnson litigation, cases are pending in the courts against Stryker over its devices.
If you believe you have suffered the serious effects of a metal-on-metal artificial hip failure, you should contact an experienced Virginia dangerous medical devices attorney as soon as possible to join a lawsuit. Call our team at (757) 333-3333.
