Johnson & Johnson Forced to Pay $1 Billion to Defective Hip Implant Victims?
Johnson & Johnson will have to pay out over $1 billion to six defective hip implant victims, according to a Reuters report. The jury in a federal court in Dallas ordered the $1 billion payout after ruling against Johnson & Johnson in a defective medical device case involving Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants. Johnson & Johnson plans to appeal the verdict. In addition to appealing this ruling, Johnson & Johnson is facing over 8,000 other lawsuits involving their hip implants.
What’s Wrong with Johnson & Johnson’s Pinnacle Hip Implants?
Per the Reuters story, the six defective hip implant victims allege they suffered multiple injuries, including bone erosion and tissue death, because of the device’s design flaws. The Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants are a product of Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics unit. The six plaintiffs claimed in their lawsuit that the metal-on-metal hip implants were marketed as being superior to other implants because they were metal instead of plastic or ceramic. However, it is the metal-on-metal design of these implants that may very well be the problem. Allegedly, the metal-on-metal design produces debris that is leading to patients suffering injuries.
The Pinnacle hip implants have not been sold since 2013, which is when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced stronger hip implant regulations.
To learn more about how the Johnson & Johnson Pinnacle hip implant cases will unfold and what our firm can do to help you, visit our DePuy ASR hip implant page. It has information regarding another defective Johnson & Johnson/DePuy hip implant that was recalled in 2010, and the legal process to hold Johnson & Johnson and DePuy accountable.
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