DePuy Hip Recall Lawsuit Schedule and Timeline

January 20, 2011 was the date of the second federal hearing on DePuy hip recall lawsuit proceedings. The following hearing in this DePuy multidistrict litigation, which took place on February 8, included details as well as projected implications of future hearings that are of great concern to those with a vested interest in the final outcome of each case.

An outline of the progress thus far:

• Because of vast numbers of hip complications related to DePuy hip devices, hundreds of lawsuits against the manufacturer were filed.
• In the first hearing, it was determined by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation that the DePuy lawsuits would be centralized and come before a sole judge.
• In the aforementioned second hearing last January, lawyers were designated to a committee that shall represent hundreds of DePuy hip lawsuit plaintiffs.
• The subsequent DePuy multidistrict litigation hearing occurred on February 8, 2011.

DePuy Multidistrict Litigation Details

• DePuy Orthopaedics is a subsidiary of corporate giant Johnson & Johnson. In summer 2010, DePuy issued a voluntary recall of two specific hip implant/resurfacing devices: the ASR XL Acetabular System (a total hip replacement), and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System.
• This recall took place following reports of unusually high failure rates, which often required patients to suffer a painful revision surgery.
• It has been recommended that any individual with a DePuy hip device consult a physician for a follow-up appointment, regardless of whether or not symptoms of failure have been noted.
• As a general rule, most hip replacement systems will last an average of 15 to 20 years, problem-free. The DePuy devices under scrutiny have enjoyed far lower success rates—in fact, they are twice that of the industry average. Roughly 1 of every 8 patients who has a DePuy hip device will need revision surgery with 5 years of implantation.
• Frequently reported symptoms of hip implant complications are: metallosis (metal poisoning caused by metal-on-metal friction), pain and/or injury in soft tissues and muscles in the region of the implant, loosening of the implant, broken bones, protracted swelling, and difficulty walking.
• 93,000 individuals have been implanted with a DePuy hip device since it was first approved in 2003.

DePuy Hip Lawsuit Proceedings and Projections:

• Legal and medical experts have said that the current DePuy litigation clearly shows that the lack of a patient registry for hip and knee replacement recipients is an obvious failure by industry leaders.
• The first of its kind, the American Joint Replacement Registry was created by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in March 2009.
• DePuy recommends that all recipients of an implant register promptly.
• It is expected that the registry will preempt similar fiascos going forward. Outcome tracking can detect design failures much earlier, before tens of thousands of defective devices have been implanted.
• The sheer number of DePuy lawsuits has spread fear among implant recipients, and some are choosing to have their ASR implants removed immediately, even with a lack of failure symptoms. Due to reports of failure and complications, they fear future problems developing.
• Between December 2010 and January 2011 the total number of DePuy plaintiffs went from 7 to nearly 200. As pre-trial proceedings continue, this number is expected to climb much higher. Some legal experts predict thousands of DePuy plaintiffs before the end.
• Most attorneys involved in DePuy litigation believe that the lawsuits will not actually go to trial. They expect DePuy to negotiate settlements, with the sum total reaching near a billion dollars. The manufacturer and defendant has already allocated $922 million to deal with DePuy lawsuit settlements and costs related to DePuy multidistrict litigation.