Preview Newsletter
Depuy 3/17
-
Jury Awards $500 Million to Plaintiffs in Johnson & Johnson Hip Case
Mar 17, 2016 | The Wall Street Journal
By Lisa Beilfuss
A federal jury in Dallas on Thursday awarded $500 million to five people who said they had suffered physical problems after receiving a certain type of hip implant manufactured by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, a decision the company intends to appeal -
UPDATE 1-Johnson & Johnson hit with $500 mln verdict in trial over hip implants
Mar 17, 2016 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy unit were ordered by a Texas federal jury on Thursday to pay a total of about $500 million to five plaintiffs who said they were injured by Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants. -
(Update 1) J&J Ordered to Pay $502 Million Over Pinnacle Hip Failures
Mar 17, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Tom Korosec and Jef Feely
Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $502 million to a group of patients who accused the company of hiding flaws in its Pinnacle artificial hips that caused the devices to prematurely fail and left them facing surgeries and pain, in J&J’s first loss over the products. -
$500M Verdict in Hip Implant Case
Mar 17, 2016 | National Law Journal
By Amanda Bronstad
Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary were hit with a $500 million verdict on Thursday after a federal jury in Texas found gross negligence and fraud in connection with the defective design of a hip implant. -
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Declines, Ordered to Pay $502 Million in Hip Implant Suit
Mar 17, 2016 | TheStreet
By Rachel Graf
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Get Report) stock is retreating 0.59% to $106.78 in late-afternoon trading on Thursday after the pharmaceutical company and its DePuy unit were ordered to pay $502 million to five plaintiffs who claimed they were injured by hip implants. -
Johnson & Johnson must pay $502 million settlement over hip devices
Mar 17, 2016 | Modern Healthcare
By Lisa Schencker
A federal jury decided Thursday that Johnson & Johnson must pay five Texans $502 million for injuries caused by defective hip replacement devices. The outcome could affect how similar cases filed by another 7,000 plaintiffs are resolved. -
J&J slapped with $500M verdict in metal-on-metal hip implant cases
Mar 17, 2016 | Fierce Medical Devices
By Emily Wasserman
Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) is facing a dark chapter in its legal saga over its Pinnacle devices. A federal jury ordered the company to fork over $500 million to 5 plaintiffs who claimed injuries from J&J's metal-on-metal hip implants. -
DePuy Must Pay $498M for Hip Implant Injuries
Mar 17, 2016 | Courthouse News Service
By David Lee
DALLAS (CN) - A federal jury in Dallas ruled Thursday that DePuy Orthopaedics should pay five Texas a total $498 million for severe medical complications they suffered as a result of the company's defective metal-on-metal hip implants. -
Jury slaps Johnson & Johnson with $500m verdict in Pinnacle hip bellwether
Mar 17, 2016 | Mass Device
By Brad Perriello
A Texas federal jury today slapped Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics with a $500 million judgment in favor of a quintet of plaintiffs who said the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant caused their injuries. -
Jury Awards $497M In 5-Case Pinnacle Hip Bellwether Trial
Mar 17, 2016 | Lexis Legal News
(March 17, 2016, 2:06 PM ET) -- DALLAS — A Texas federal jury on March 17 returned a $497 million verdict in a five-case Pinnacle hip multidistrict litigation bellwether trial, according to plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier of the Lanier Firm in Houston (Margaret Aoki v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 13-1071, Jacqueline Christopher v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 14-194, Donald Greer v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 12-1672, Susan Klusmann v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 11-2800, and Robert Peterson v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 11-1941, N.D. Texas, Dallas Div.). -
Dallas jury awards $502 million to five hip implant victims
Mar 17, 2016 | Texas Law Book
By Mark Curriden
A federal jury in Dallas ruled Thursday that severe medical problems suffered by five Texans were the result of defective metal-on-metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. -
BREAKING: J&J Hit With $498M Verdict In 2nd Pinnacle Bellwether Trial
Mar 17, 2016 | Law360
By Sindhu Sundar
Law360, New York (March 17, 2016, 12:57 PM ET) -- Johnson & Johnson was hit with an eye-popping $497.6 million verdict Thursday in the second bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation over allegedly defective Pinnacle hip prosthetics manufactured by its DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. unit, a major win for the plaintiffs in the litigation who had this time put forth the consolidated claims of five patients alleging problems from the devices. -
BREAKING - Jury Awards Just Under $500 Million Total to Plaintiffs in 5 Separate Cases at Conclusion of Pinnacle Hip Implant Consolidated MDL Trial HarrisMartin
Mar 17, 2016 | HarrisMartin
A Texas federal jury has awarded just under $500 million total to five separate plaintiffs at the conclusion of a consolidated trial involving allegedly defective Pinnacle Hip Implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson, HarrisMartin Publishing is reporting. -
J&J Ordered To Pay $502 Million In Hip Suit
Mar 17, 2016 | Grey Sheet
A jury in Dallas, Texas ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $502 million to a group of patients who say they were injured when Pinnacle artificial hips made by the company’s DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.business unit failed prematurely.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Full Text of Stories Below
Top-Tier Media
Trade Media
-
Jury Awards $500 Million to Plaintiffs in Johnson & Johnson Hip Case
Mar 17, 2016 | The Wall Street Journal
By Lisa Beilfuss
A federal jury in Dallas on Thursday awarded $500 million to five people who said they had suffered physical problems after receiving a certain type of hip implant manufactured by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, a decision the company intends to appeal.
Five Texas residents who received a type of metal-on-metal hip implant made by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. suffered “a variety of debilitating physical problems,” according to attorneys associated with the plaintiffs.
All five alleged the devices had unreasonably high failure rates, resulting in severe pain and inflammation, bone erosion and tissue loss, among other problems, according to the lawyers.
Johnson & Johnson said its defense counsel expects “grounds for appeal are strong” and that the $360 million in punitive damages will be reduced to around $10 million.
Mindy Tinsley, a spokeswoman for J&J, said “DePuy acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing” of the product, which she said “is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness.”
Ms. Tinsley said DePuy will immediately begin filing post-trial appellate motions.
The jury decision is the latest blow to Johnson & Johnson’s Pinnacle hip replacements. DePuy has seen a raft of suits alleging defective hip joints, and the J&J unit at one point stopped selling them.
Thursday’s verdict has to do with one part of the product, its cup system, over which the company in 2014 won a favorable court ruling.
-
UPDATE 1-Johnson & Johnson hit with $500 mln verdict in trial over hip implants
Mar 17, 2016 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy unit were ordered by a Texas federal jury on Thursday to pay a total of about $500 million to five plaintiffs who said they were injured by Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants.
Following a two-month trial, jurors found that the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed, and that the companies failed to warn the public about their risks. Jurors awarded about $130 million in total compensatory damages and about $360 million in punitive damages, according to the plaintiffs' lead trial lawyer, Mark Lanier.
"There are thousands of these cases, and J&J needs to get responsible," Lanier said following the verdict, which came in the second federal trial involving the Pinnacle device.
J&J was cleared of liability in the first trial ended in 2014.
A J&J spokeswoman said the company plans to appeal the verdict.
All five plaintiffs are Texas residents who were implanted with metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip devices. They said design flaws caused the devices to fail more frequently and quickly than expected, leading to injuries including tissue death, bone erosion and high levels of metal in their blood. (Reporting by Jessica Dye, Editing by G Crosse, Alexia Garamfalvi and Richard Chang)
-
(Update 1) J&J Ordered to Pay $502 Million Over Pinnacle Hip Failures
Mar 17, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Tom Korosec and Jef Feely
Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $502 million to a group of patients who accused the company of hiding flaws in its Pinnacle artificial hips that caused the devices to prematurely fail and left them facing surgeries and pain, in J&J’s first loss over the products.
A federal-court jury in Dallas concluded Thursday that artificial hips sold by J&J’s DePuy unit under the Pinnacle brand name were defective and company officials knew about the flaws but failed to warn patients and doctors of the risks. They awarded $142 million in actual damages and $360 million in punitive damages to a group of five patients whose hips broke down and had to be surgically removed.
“The defendants have tried six different arguments against people with failed implants,” said Mark Lanier, a lawyer for those who sued. “One worked, that the surgeon put it in wrong. The other five haven’t worked and won’t, because it is a defective product.”
In an earlier trial, J&J won, using the first argument in a trial with a single plaintiff. Lanier was the attorney for the patient with the implant.
“The grounds for appeal are strong and the punitive damages will be reduced to around $10 million subject to the Texas statutory cap,” John Beisner, a lawyer for the company, said by e-mail.
Company Statement
Mindy Tinsley, a DePuy spokeswoman, said the company “acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing” of the devices. “The product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
The verdict comes in the second trial of about 8,000 lawsuits filed against J&J and DePuy over the metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle hips. J&J stopped selling the devices in 2013 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration toughened artificial-hip regulations. J&J won the first Pinnacle case heard by a jury in 2014.
The devices weren’t covered by New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J’s $2.5 billion settlement of claims over another line of artificial hips known as ASRs. J&J recalled 93,000 of those implants worldwide in August 2010, saying 12 percent failed within five years.
Cases Gathered
The Pinnacle cases have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas for pretrial information exchanges and test trials. Kinkeade agreed to combine five cases selected by plaintiffs’ lawyers in the most recent trial. About 170,000 DePuy hips were implanted after the devices went on the market in the U.S. in 2000, according to court filings.
Margaret Aoki, Jay Christopher, Donald Greer, Richard Klusmann and Robert Peterson all got Pinnacle Ultamet metal-on-metal hips that failed and had to be surgically removed. Greer, 79, is a plastic surgeon from Chicago, and Klusmann, 68, is a former chief executive of a hospital, according to court filings.
The group said their DePuy hips leached cobalt and chromium material into their bloodstreams, leading to the hips’ failures and surgical removal. They claimed J&J officials knew their metal-on-metal design would cause such injuries but pushed ahead to rack up billions in sales.
Lanier told jurors in closing arguments that DePuy officials launched an aggressive campaign to market the metal-on-metal hips in the U.S. and across the world. The effort included paying kickbacks and bribes overseas, paying U.S. doctors millions to tout the devices and misleading doctors and consumers about the safety of the hips, the lawyer said.
‘Seedy Story’
“It’s a seedy story of deception, payoffs and hidden truths,” Lanier said. DePuy hip patients “are walking time bombs,” he said.
Richard Sarver, DePuy’s lead lawyer, countered that the metal-on-metal design was not defective and each of the five plaintiffs’ had an individual reason the device failed.
“The defect doesn’t exist and didn’t cause” the hips to fail, Sarver said in his closing arguments. “The devices may not be perfect, but they are not defective.”
Lanier unfairly attempted to paint J&J as a rogue company when it came to selling artificial hips, Sarver said.
“This is not a bad company,” he told the panel. “This company is a good company.”
The case is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, 11-md-02244, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Dallas).
-
$500M Verdict in Hip Implant Case
Mar 17, 2016 | National Law Journal
By Amanda Bronstad
Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary were hit with a $500 million verdict on Thursday after a federal jury in Texas found gross negligence and fraud in connection with the defective design of a hip implant.
The award against Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., which includes $360 million in punitive damages, comes in the second bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation over its Pinnacle hip implants, which plaintiffs claim caused pain and additional surgeries. A federal jury in 2014 had rendered a defense verdict in the first bellwether trial.
But in this case, which involved five plaintiffs, the jury found DePuy and Johnson & Johnson liable for gross negligence and fraud. It also found that DePuy had failed to warn of a hip implant it had defectively designed and that Johnson & Johnson aided and abetted DePuy’s actions. The total award was $502 million to five plaintiffs and three of their spouses.
“We’re just really stoked,” said lead plaintiffs counsel W. Mark Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm in Houston. “The jury just said money doesn’t get you out of problems. You’ve got to be responsible.”
DePuy immediately vowed to file posttrial motions and appeal the award.
“DePuy acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing of Ultamet metal-on-metal, and the product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients suffering from chronic hip pain,” said DePuy spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley, referring to the Ultamet metal liner used in the Pinnacle devices implanted in all five plaintiffs. DePuy discontinued the liner in 2013.
John Beisner, leader of the mass torts, insurance and consumer litigation group at New York’s Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, who represented Johnson & Johnson and DePuy, called the verdict a “pyrrhic victory” given that there are “strong” grounds for appeal and that, with damages caps under Texas law, the award could be reduced to around $10 million.
Beisner also had harsh words for Lanier. “The lead plaintiff lawyer in this case, Mr. Lanier, has a history of pushing the evidentiary envelope at trial to score substantial verdicts, only to have those trial court victories reversed on appeal.”
U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas, who is overseeing 8,000 lawsuits filed over injuries associated with the Pinnacle, a metal-on-metal hip implant, consolidated the cases of five plaintiffs for the trial, which began on Jan. 11.
In the first bellwether trial, Lanier said the jury found the doctor at fault and a replacement hip implant the plaintiff had received—which he planned to argue was safer than the Pinnacle—failed three weeks before trial. None of that happened in this case, he said.
“That’s the most fun case I’ve tried in a long time,” he said.
-
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Declines, Ordered to Pay $502 Million in Hip Implant Suit
Mar 17, 2016 | TheStreet
By Rachel Graf
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Get Report) stock is retreating 0.59% to $106.78 in late-afternoon trading on Thursday after the pharmaceutical company and its DePuy unit were ordered to pay $502 million to five plaintiffs who claimed they were injured by hip implants.
The patients alleged that Johnson & Johnson covered up flaws in its Pinnacle artificial hips that caused the implants to fail prematurely, Bloomberg reports.
A federal-court jury in Dallas found that the hips were defectively designed, and the company did not warn the public about the risks.
Johnson & Johnson "acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing" of the devices, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. "The product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients."
The company plans to appeal, Reuters notes.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of A-.
Johnson & Johnson's strengths include its solid stock price performance, increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and expanding profit margins.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: JNJ
TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.
-
Johnson & Johnson must pay $502 million settlement over hip devices
Mar 17, 2016 | Modern Healthcare
By Lisa Schencker
A federal jury decided Thursday that Johnson & Johnson must pay five Texans $502 million for injuries caused by defective hip replacement devices. The outcome could affect how similar cases filed by another 7,000 plaintiffs are resolved.
The lawsuits allege that Pinnacle Ultamet metal-on-metal hip replacements, made by Johnson & Johnson's DePuy Orthopaedics, spread metal debris into their bloodstreams, causing major injuries that sometimes required further surgery, according to the law firm that represented the Texans, Simmons Hanly Conroy.
The device was designed to relieve pain and provide a smooth range of motion for people with damaged or diseased hip joints.
The five cases decided Thursday were consolidated and chosen to go to trial as so-called “bellwether” cases meant to help test the waters and guide possible future settlements.
DePuy said it will appeal the verdict in a statement Thursday. The company has denied that the devices are defective.
“DePuy acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing of ULTAMET Metal-on-Metal, and the product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients suffering from chronic hip pain,” DePuy spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley said in the statement.
DePuy was victorious in a 2014 federal trial over the same device.
The decision Thursday came after 37 days of testimony in a federal district court in Texas.
The jury found that the devices were defective, that the company didn't adequately warn doctors about the product's dangers, and that the injuries were a result of gross negligence and fraud by DePuy and Johnson & Johnson.
The devices have not been recalled. In 2013, Johnson & Johnson announced it would pay $2.5 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits over a different line of failed metal-on-metal hip implants.
-
J&J slapped with $500M verdict in metal-on-metal hip implant cases
Mar 17, 2016 | Fierce Medical Devices
By Emily Wasserman
Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) is facing a dark chapter in its legal saga over its Pinnacle devices. A federal jury ordered the company to fork over $500 million to 5 plaintiffs who claimed injuries from J&J's metal-on-metal hip implants.
After a two-month trial, jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas found that Pinnacle hip implants made by J&J's DePuy unit were defectively designed and that the company did not warn the public about the product's risks, Reuters reports. J&J/DePuy still faces more than 8,000 cases in federal court regarding the devices.
J&J will begin filing motions to appeal "immediately," DePuy spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley told FierceMedicalDevices in an email.
"We have no greater responsibility than to the patients who use our products, and our goal is to create medical innovations that help people live more active and comfortable lives," Tinsley said. "DePuy acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing of Ultamet Metal-on-Metal, and the product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients suffering from chronic hip pain."
The latest verdict marks a low point for J&J, which has dealt with a legal storm over its hip implants. In 2014, the company scored a victory after a Texas jury ruled against a woman who claimed that Pinnacle devices made by DePuy caused her undue pain and suffering. The jury also denied the plaintiff's request for more than $1.5 million in damages.
But J&J is still dealing with the fallout over safety issues tied to hip implants. In 2010, the company said that it would shell out $2.5 billion to settle thousands of claims over its all-metal ASR hip implants. Last year, J&J said that it would hand over as much as $420 million to resolve claims over recalled hip implants, adding to its previous settlement.
At the end of the day, J&J will likely pay more than $4 billion to resolve all its implant cases, Carl Tobias, a product-liability law professor at Virginia's University of Richmond, said last year.
-
DePuy Must Pay $498M for Hip Implant Injuries
Mar 17, 2016 | Courthouse News Service
By David Lee
DALLAS (CN) - A federal jury in Dallas ruled Thursday that DePuy Orthopaedics should pay five Texas a total $498 million for severe medical complications they suffered as a result of the company's defective metal-on-metal hip implants.
A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, DePuy is facing several thousand such lawsuits over its discontinued Pinnacle hip implants.
The cases have since been consolidated under multidistrict litigation in Dallas Federal Court under U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.
The jury awarded over $130 million in compensatory damages and over $360 million in punitive damages, according to plaintiffs' attorney W. Mark Lanier, of Houston.
"There are thousands of these cases, and Johnson & Johnson needs to get responsible," Lanier said after the verdict.
During the two-month trial, the five plaintiffs claimed the implants were defectively designed and led to high levels of metal debris due to quicker than expected wear and tear.
DePuy said it plans to appeal the verdict.
In October 2014, the first Pinnacle case to go to trial ended when a Dallas federal jury cleared DePuy of liability and ordered the plaintiff take nothing.Depuy said at the time that it "expects additional cases to be tried" and that it "remains committed to the long-term and vigorous defense" of the cases.
-
Jury slaps Johnson & Johnson with $500m verdict in Pinnacle hip bellwether
Mar 17, 2016 | Mass Device
By Brad Perriello
A Texas federal jury today slapped Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics with a $500 million judgment in favor of a quintet of plaintiffs who said the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant caused their injuries.
After a 2-month trial, jurors found that the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed and that DePuy failed to warn patients about the risks. Jurors awarded about $130 million in total compensatory damages and about $360 million in punitive damages, said plaintiffs’ lead trial lawyer Mark Lanier.
“There are thousands of these cases, and J&J needs to get responsible,” Lanier said.
The 1st bellwether trial in the Pinnacle multi-district litigation went J&J’s way in October 2014, when the jury acquitted DePuy. Last month, the company won another legal victory with the dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by a pair of British surgeons over its since-discontinued Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant.
A J&J spokeswoman said today that the company plans to appeal the most recent verdict.
-
Jury Awards $497M In 5-Case Pinnacle Hip Bellwether Trial
Mar 17, 2016 | Lexis Legal News
(March 17, 2016, 2:06 PM ET) -- DALLAS — A Texas federal jury on March 17 returned a $497 million verdict in a five-case Pinnacle hip multidistrict litigation bellwether trial, according to plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier of the Lanier Firm in Houston (Margaret Aoki v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 13-1071, Jacqueline Christopher v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 14-194, Donald Greer v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 12-1672, Susan Klusmann v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 11-2800, and Robert Peterson v. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., et al., No. 11-1941, N.D. Texas, Dallas Div.).
Lanier told Mealey Publications that the jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas awarded the plaintiffs $137 million in compensatory damages and $360 million in punitive damages. He said the jury assessed $240 million in punitives to co-defendant Johnson & Johnson and $120 million to DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.
The jury had been in deliberations since March 10 and returned its verdict shortly before noon March 17.
Lanier told Mealey Publications that the facts in the case are “so egregious that it’s a pity that Johnson & Johnson hasn’t been responsive and resolved these cases. They need to find a resolution.”
DePuy: Acted Appropriately
In a press statement, DePuy spokesperson Mindy Tinsley said the defendants will immediately file post-trial appellate motions. “DePuy acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing of Ultamet Metal-on-Metal, and the product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients suffering from chronic hip pain.”
The jury began deliberations March 10 after 37 days of testimony. The trial began Jan. 8.
Margaret Aoki, Jay Christopher, Donald Greer, Richard Klusmann and Robert Peterson were each implanted with a Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System hip using the Ultamet metal-on-metal configuration. The plaintiffs or their survivors sued the defendants, and their cases were transferred into the Pinnacle hip MDL in the Northern District of Texas, where they were selected as bellwether cases.
Metal Wear, Injury Alleged
The plaintiffs allege that the metal-on-metal configuration of the Pinnacle hip resulted unreasonable high early failure rates, metallosis, biologic toxicity, tissue death, bone erosion, pseudotumors, severe inflammation, severe pain and other related diseases. They also allege that they required revision surgery.
The plaintiffs also allege that the defendants improperly offered financial benefits to physicians to induce them to use the Pinnacle hip, including Dr. Eric Heinrich, a surgeon for Klusmann and Peterson.
The plaintiffs assert claims of design and manufacturing defect, negligent undertaking, tortious interference, breach of the patient/physician fiduciary relationship and exemplary damages.
JMOL, Mistrial Denied
On March 10, Judge Ed Kinkeade denied a defense motion for summary judgment as a matter of law on the affirmative defense of limitations; preemption of design defect claims; fear of risk of cancer or other systemic harm; failure to warn; misrepresentation or omission; and exemplary damages. The judge also denied a defense motion for a mistrial based on improper cross-examination of defense witnesses and improper references to cancer.
The first Pinnacle bellwether trial ended with a defense verdict on Oct. 23.
As of March 15, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reports that there are more than 8,217 Pinnacle hip cases in the MDL, down from 8,329.
Counsel
The plaintiffs in the ongoing trial are represented by Lanier; Richard J. Arsenault of Neblett, Beard & Arsenault in Alexandria, La.; Larry P. Boyd and Wayne Fisher of Fisher, Boyd, Johnson & Huguenard in Houston; and Jane Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy of New York.
The defendants are represented by Michael V. Powell and Seth M. Roberts of Locke Lord in Dallas and Stephen J. Harburg, John H. Beisner, Jessica Davidson Miller and Geoffrey M. Wyatt of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York.
-
Dallas jury awards $502 million to five hip implant victims
Mar 17, 2016 | Texas Law Book
By Mark Curriden
A federal jury in Dallas ruled Thursday that severe medical problems suffered by five Texans were the result of defective metal-on-metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
The jury heard 37 days of testimony from the plaintiffs, company officials and expert witnesses for both sides.
After more than five days of deliberations, the jury awarded the five plaintiffs $502 million — $360 million of it in punitive damages.
The plaintiffs argued that DePuy’s hip implant device design was defective and that the company knew it was defective but failed to give adequate warnings to the public. They also claimed that Johnson & Johnson, the parent company, committed fraud by helping to misrepresent the dangers of the product to users.
Testimony by plaintiffs’ witnesses during the trial revealed that the devices had unreasonably high failure rates resulting in severe pain and inflammation, bone erosion, tissue loss and other problems.
“Today’s verdict is the result of years of hard work by my clients and every member of their legal teams, and almost three months of trial before one of the hardest-working juries I’ve seen during my years in the courtroom,” said Mark Lanier, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.
"Now that DePuy and Johnson & Johnson have been found liable, we’re looking forward to trying another set of plaintiffs’ cases, hopefully this fall,” he said.
The Pinnacle metal-on-metal system was manufactured from 2002 to 2012 before DePuy pulled the metal liners off the market in 2013. Although the Pinnacle devices have never been recalled, DePuy recalled other metal-on-metal hip implants that were sold under the ASR brand name to roughly 35,000 patients.
The case was tried before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas
-
BREAKING: J&J Hit With $498M Verdict In 2nd Pinnacle Bellwether Trial
Mar 17, 2016 | Law360
By Sindhu Sundar
Law360, New York (March 17, 2016, 12:57 PM ET) -- Johnson & Johnson was hit with an eye-popping $497.6 million verdict Thursday in the second bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation over allegedly defective Pinnacle hip prosthetics manufactured by its DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. unit, a major win for the plaintiffs in the litigation who had this time put forth the consolidated claims of five patients alleging problems from the devices.
After a two-month trial and days of deliberations, a Dallas jury found in favor of all five plaintiffs in the trial, delivering a verdict that included $360 million in punitive damages, lead plaintiffs attorney Mark Lanier of the Lanier Law Firm confirmed to Law360 Thursday.
The trial had involved the consolidated claims of plaintiffs Margaret Aoki, Jay Christopher, Donald Greer, Richard Klusmann and Robert Peterson, who all underwent hip arthroplasty, where a hip joint is replaced with a prosthetic. In their case, the prosthetics were DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal devices, which they alleged cause serious health problems including inflammation of surrounding tissues, bone erosion and metallosis, a toxic condition allegedly caused when the device’s components grind against each other and shed metal debris into the bloodstream.
U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade, who is presiding over the trial and the MDL, had ruled on Jan. 8 that the five cases had enough issues in common that they should be consolidated for trial. In particular, all five plaintiffs here underwent similar implantation surgeries, their doctors received similar warnings, and the patients all alleged similar injuries, according to his ruling.
Aoki, who had filed her suit in March 2013, was implanted with a DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal device in 2010. She contended that after DePuy's other hip implant product, the DePuy ASR Hip System, was recalled in 2010, J&J doubled down on marketing the metal-on-metal device as a replacement.
She claimed that the ASR recall spurred J&J into "damage control" mode, where it assured surgeons that the metal-on-metal device was safe but knew it posed the risk of complications including metallosis. She claimed in particular that more than 1,300 adverse event complaints had been made to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the devices — among the roughly 150,000 such devices sold — and that J&J knew that patients implanted with those devices wound up with unsafe levels of cobalt and chromium in their bloodstream.
The first bellwether trial in the MDL ended in a significant verdict for J&J, in which a federal jury in October 2014 unanimously cleared DePuy Orthopedics of similar accusations.
The jury had found in favor of Johnson & Johnson on all counts, rejecting plaintiff Kathy Herlihy-Paoli's claims of negligence, defective design, failure to warn and violations of the Montana Consumer Protection Act after an eight-week trial in Dallas. The product at issue in the trial was the Ultamet metal-on-metal articulation.
The MDL was consolidated in May 2011, when the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized three actions and identified 54 potential tag-along actions. There are now more than 8,000 cases in the MDL, all involving Pinnacle devices that contain sockets with metal, ceramic or polyethylene lining, according to court documents.
The plaintiffs are represented by W. Mark Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm, Larry Boyd, Wayne Fisher and Justin Presnal of Fisher Boyd Johnson & Huguenard LLP, Richard J. Arsenault of Neblett Beard & Arsenault and Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy.
Johnson & Johnson and DePuy are represented by Michael V. Powell and Seth M. Roberts of Locke Lord LLP and John H. Beisner, Stephen J. Harburg, Jessica Davidson Miller and Geoffrey M. Wyatt of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
The five cases consolidated for trial are Aoki v. Johnson & Johnson Services et al., case number 3:13-cv-01071; Christopher et al v. Johnson & Johnson Services Inc. et al., case number 3:14-cv-01994; Greer v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. et al., case number 3:12-cv-1672; Klusmann et al v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. et al., case number 3:11-cv-02800; and Peterson et al v. Johnson & Johnson Services Inc. et al, case number 3:11-cv-01941, all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
The MDL is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, case number 3:11-md-02244, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
-
Mar 17, 2016 | HarrisMartin
A Texas federal jury has awarded just under $500 million total to five separate plaintiffs at the conclusion of a consolidated trial involving allegedly defective Pinnacle Hip Implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson, HarrisMartin Publishing is reporting.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas jury reached the verdict on March 17 after hearing 37 days of testimony, sources said. The jury received the case late in the afternoon on March 10 and deliberated for four more days before reaching the verdict.
The MDL Court had consolidated the five cases for trial after determining that the plaintiffs were all from Texas and were all implanted with the DePuy Pinnacle Metal-on-Metal device. MDL Judge Ed Kinkeade presided over the trial, which began with jury selection on Jan. 8. Opening arguments were heard Jan. 11.
According to recent court filings, defendants DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Synthes Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., and Johnson & Johnson International were all involved with the case at the time of the verdict.
Aoki
Plaintiff Margaret E. Aoki contended in her March 2013 lawsuit that she was implanted with a Pinnacle device with an Ultamet liner in Sept. 2010. After the left total hip arthroplasty procedure, Aoki said the device corroded and released toxic cobalt-chromium metal debris into her tissue surrounding the device.
As a result of the corrosion, Aoki said she began experiencing pain and difficulty with her implant. According to the plaintiff, the hip began malfunctioning and, in July 2012 during an incidence when her hip “stuck,” she fell and broke her arm.
Aoki underwent revision surgery in Feb. 2013 to remove the allegedly defective Pinnacle device.
Christopher
Jay and Jacqueline Christopher alleged in their complaint, filed in June 2014, that Jay Christopher underwent a right total hip arthroplasty procedure, which included the implantation of a Pinnacle Device with an Ultamet liner.
Since he was implanted with the device, Christopher said he has experienced pain and difficulty with his hip; a subsequent MARS scan showed fluid collection in his hip.
Christopher underwent revision surgery in Dec. 2013. At the time, his surgeon’s report stated that “metal-on-metal reaction was encountered with fluid and synovial hypertrophy, and the fluid in the hip was yellowish-greenish fluid.”
Greer
Filed in May 2012, Donald Greer’s lawsuit contended that he underwent a hip replacement in 2004, at which time the Pinnacle Device was implanted into his right hip.
A revision surgery was performed eight years later after the device failed, according to the complaint.
Greer alleged in the lawsuit that as a result of the defective hip implant, he has experienced degenerative pain, soreness and walking difficulty.
Klusmann
Richard and Susan Klusmann filed their complaint in Oct. 2011, maintaining that the defendants were liable for injuries sustained by Richard Klusmann, who was implanted with the Pinnacle Device with Ultamet liner in his left hip in Dec. 2004. Klusmann underwent a right total hip arthroplasty nearly one year later for his right hip, into which the Pinnacle Device with an Ultamet liner was also implanted.
In June 2011, Klusmann’s blood was tested and showed “dangerously elevated levels of cobalt and chromium,” the complaint said. A subsequent MRI also showed a “fluid-filled cyst and fluid around his left hip,” the plaintiffs said.
Richard Klusmann underwent a revision surgery on his left hip in Aug. 2011 and on his right hip in Nov. 2011.
"To this day,” the complaint alleged, “Plaintiffs continue to experience harm and damage.”
Peterson
According to Robert and Karen Peterson’s Aug. 2011 lawsuit, Robert (Pete) Peterson underwent a left total hip arthroplasty procedure in Jan. 2005. Peterson, a former U.S. Navy SEAL was implanted with the Pinnacle Device with an Ultamet liner, the complaint said.
However, Peterson began experiencing difficulty with his device in Dec. 2010 and was required to undergo a revision surgery in April 2011.
“All of the injuries and complications suffered by Plaintiff were caused by the defective design, warnings, construction and unreasonably dangerous character of the Pinnacle Device that was implanted in him,” the lawsuit said.
Testifying on behalf of the plaintiffs were Minette E. Drumwright, Ph.D.; Pamela Plouhar, Ph.D.; Albert Burstein, Ph.D.; Dr. Richard Kearns; Dr. Bernard Morrey; Dr. Thomas Schmalzried, M.D.; Dr. Matthew C. Morrey; and Dr. Nicholas A. Athanasou.
Testifying on behalf of the defendants were Brian D. Hass, M.D.; Scott Nelson, M.D.; Patricia A. Campbell, Ph.D.; Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.; Donald Belsito, M.D.; Edward W. Boyer, M.D., Ph.D.; Aaron B. Waxman, Ph.D.; Timothy A. Ulatowski, M.S.; Roger Emerson, M.D.; William L. Griffin, M.D. (via video deposition); Thomas K. Fehring, M.D. (via video deposition); and Roger Emerson, M.D.
The defendants were represented by trial by Michael V. Powell and Seth M. Roberts of Locke Lord LLP in Dallas; Richard E. Sarver of Barrasso, Usdin, Kupperman, Freeman & Sarver in New Orleans; and Steven W. Quattlebaum of Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC in Little Rock, Ark.
The plaintiffs were represented by trial by W. Mark Lanier of the Lanier Law Firm in Houston; Wayne Fisher of Fisher, Boyd, Johnson & Huguenard LLP in Houston; Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy in New York; Richard Arsenault of Neblett Beard & Arsenault in Alexandria, La.; and Ernest H. Cannon of Stephenville, Texas.
Iin re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244; Aoki, No. 13-01071; Christopher, No. 14-01994; Greer, No. 12-01672; Klusmann, No. 11-02800; Peterson, No. 11-01941 (N.D. Texas).
Documents are Available Call (800) 496-4319 or Search www.harrismartin.com Aoki Complaint Ref# HIP-1603-03 Christopher Complaint Ref# HIP-1603-04 Greer Complaint Ref# HIP-1603-05 Klusmann Complaint Ref# HIP-1603-06 Peterson Complaint Ref# HIP-1603-07
Associated Documents
Aoki Complaint
Christopher Complaint
Greer Complaint
Klusmann Complaint
Peterson Complaint -
J&J Ordered To Pay $502 Million In Hip Suit
Mar 17, 2016 | Grey Sheet
A jury in Dallas, Texas ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $502 million to a group of patients who say they were injured when Pinnacle artificial hips made by the company’s DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.business unit failed prematurely.
The verdict in the bellwether case, which combined claims filed by five patients whose Pinnacle hips broke down and needed to be surgically removed and replaced, orders J&J to pay $142 million in actual damages and $360 million in putative damages. The patients alleged the company knew about the risks posed by the hips, but failed to adequately warn patients and physicians.
This is the second Pinnacle hip case to go to trial and the first DePuy has lost. The company won a 2014 suit involving a single patient by arguing that the surgeon had implanted the hip incorrectly. Around 7,000 lawsuits have been filed against DePuy over the metal-on-metal version of Pinnacle hips. The company stopped selling the hips in 2013 after FDA proposed new PMA requirements. Pinnacle and other metal-and-metal hips reached the market via 510(k) clearance. The agency finalized the PMA requirement earlier this year. (See "PMAs Are The New Reality For Metal-On-Metal Hips" — "The Gray Sheet," Feb. 17, 2016.)
Significant evidence shows that metal-on-metal hips have a notably higher revision rate than hips with porcelain or ceramic components. In addition, some research suggests the hips may leach toxic metal ions into the blood. (See "Metal-On-Metal Hips Get Failing Grade In New Registry Analysis" — "The Gray Sheet," Mar. 19, 2012.)
DePuy, which maintains its conduct around the hips was appropriate, plans to appeal the verdict. “The product is backed by a strong record of safety and effectiveness in reducing pain and restoring mobility for patients,” company spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley said in an email.
However, plaintiffs’ counsel Jayne Conroy, shareholder, Simmons Hanly Conroy, said the award was well-deserved.
"This a significant and well-earned victory for the plaintiffs, who have suffered major injuries caused by these dangerous devices," she said. Conroy alleges physicians received kickbacks for using and recommending the hips.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Full Text of Stories Below
Top-Tier Media
Trade Media
Add recipients
Suggested