With thousands of lawsuits being filed against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for their seemingly defective-by-design DePuy Hip Implant, five plaintiffs in Texas have recently received a positive conclusion to their cases. After a full two months of trial and an entire week of jury deliberation, J&J was deemed liable for damages caused by their hip implant devices and ordered to pay $500 million to five plaintiffs, with about $140 million for compensatory damages and the remaining $360 million for punitive damages.
Plaintiffs in the trial experienced a variety of negative impacts and serious health issues after using DePuy hip implant devices. Most reported problems as severe as necrosis in the implant site, bone loss and erosion, and metallosis, or the presence of dangerously high levels of metal in the blood supply. Beyond citing that the DePuy devices were obviously hazardous to health due to an inherent design flaw of putting two metal parts together in the joint, the plaintiffs’ case also stated that J&J grossly exaggerated the safety and functionality of the devices in marketing and advertising.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT FOR JOHNSON & JOHNSON?
J&J and their lawyers were quick to challenge the verdict and were already planning to file an appeal.
Johnson & Johnson may be bolstered by a courtroom success in a trial in 2014 for a similar device, the Pinnacle hip implant. In that case, the corporation was cleared of any liability. However, just a year before, it doled out more than $2.5 billion to thousands of plaintiffs due to the dangerous nature of another hip implant device called the ASR.
For a full article on the recent case result in Texas, Reuters has published an online article here. If you believe you have been hurt by a Johnson & Johnson DePuy hip implant or a similar device, there is still time for you to file a lawsuit in pursuit of compensation. Call toll-free 877.751.9800 to connect with a defective medical device attorney at Morelli Law Firm today.