DePuy Settlements Expected at the End of the Year

The hip implant system marketed by DePuy Orthopaedics has recently been recalled from the market due to a spate of complaints about side effects suffered by customers of the device, such as difficulty walking, swelling in the affected joint, and pain – all common symptoms that could necessitate a hip replacement in the first place. However, although the system was recalled six months ago, DePuy has yet to provide settlements in any of the thousands of DePuy lawsuits that have been piling up against them, despite the fact that a study proved that over 12 percent of hip implant recipients had to undergo a revision surgery to fix the problems that the original implant caused.
However, this doesn’t mean that no settlements will be reached at all – plaintiffs just need to be patient, as legislation of this type can take time to go through. Action is already being taken in the Northern District of Ohio, where the multidistrict lawsuit is set to take place. Although the proceedings could last more than a year, settlements could be reached at any time during the proceedings, however it is most likely that these will take place during of after bellwether trials that are set to take place after the multidistrict litigation.
Patients who have received DePuy hips need to understand that the “reasonable” reimbursement the company is offering, which will get to patients either through the mail or through a doctor, do not constitute a settlement and it is very possible for a patient to receive even further compensation through taking legal action against the corporation responsible, and a patient who signs the offer could be forgoing a settlement worth millions of dollars, depending on the extent of the patient’s injuries and costs related to loss of income, medical expenses, pain and suffering, et cetera.