DePuy Hip Lawsuit Leads to Settlement Speculation

Reports are saying that the many lawsuits against DePuy Orthopaedics surrounding their possibly defective ASR hip replacement system will be consolidated into three different courts around the country – federal cases will be heard in Ohio, while state cases will take place in California and New Jersey. This decision is a step forward in the progress of the over 600 lawsuits that surround the case, all filed because patients have been suffering from severe hip complications such as loosening of the implant and bone fracture. 350 of these lawsuits were filed in federal courts and will therefore be heard in Ohio.


Two of the designers of the ASR hip replacement system reside in California, which is why it is one of the focal points of the court cases. Design flaws in the ASR system have been blamed for such complications as metallosis and dislocation of the implant, forcing many users to have to undergo revision surgery, a complicated and painful procedure that is often much more difficult than the initial operation – and can be deadly.

Johnson & Johnson has its headquarters in New Jersey, which explains the influx of DePuy hip lawsuits into the state. These lawsuits have not yet been consolidated in any way, but since Atlantic County is one of the top judicial sites for consolidated litigation this may very well happen. In all cases, consolidated litigation will proceed in a way not unlike class action – except that each claim filed will remain an individual claim throughout the judicial process. This ensures that patients with different complaints will get different treatment. Some DePuy hip recall settlements are likely to be reached along the way, eliminating some cases from final decisions.

The lawsuits surrounding this product are extremely important – especially since statistics about DePuy failure rates are becoming clearer. As many as 50 percent of patients will experience hip implant failure within six years of first having the DePuy ASR hip implanted.