Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog
J&J DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip. On the heels of the latest plaintiff multi-million dollar DePuy hip trial verdict, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the world’s largest pharmaceutical company and medical device maker, and its DePuy subsidiary were back in federal court again.
J&J DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip. J&J and its DePuy unit are under fire over allegations involving its Pinnacle/Ultamet line of metal hip devices which are prone to metal poisoning and premature failure according to lawsuits.
J&J and its DePuy unit, which makes the artificial hips, recently argued in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the verdict should be reversed because there was insufficient evidence that the hips were defectively designed and deceptively marketed.
J&J Playing High Stakes Poker
J&J sought an appeals-court ruling in the business-friendly Fifth Circuit, looking to reverse a $151 million judgment over its line of Pinnacle artificial hips. A finding for the defense could catastrophically impact the settlement outcome for thousands of lawsuits over the devices.
J&J Claims “Insufficient Evidence”
J&J claims in its appeal that the verdict should be reversed because there was insufficient evidence that the hips were defectively designed and deceptively marketed. The companies will also address the “highly inflammatory comments” at the trial by plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The plaintiffs will defend the verdict in favor of five hip patients who won a $502 million verdict in 2016, only to see it knocked down to $151 million by the trial judge.
The plaintiffs claim that there was enough evidence to support the verdict, including proof that J&J knew the metal-on-metal hips were defective and would prematurely fail but hid its knowledge to continue to rake in billions of dollars in sales.
J&J and its DePuy unit are under fire over allegations involving its Pinnacle/Ultamet line of metal hip devices which are prone to metal poisoning and premature failure according to lawsuits.
Texas DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Trials
In May 2011, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized pretrial proceedings in the cases before Judge Kinkeade in the in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.
The Texas federal court has more than 9,000 hip implant lawsuits, involving the Johnson and Johnson DePuy Orthopaedics’ Pinnacle Hip Replacement system that uses the metal Ultamet liner.
What is the problem with the DePuy Pinnacle hip system?
Over the past several years medical studies have found that some all-metal implants can release dangerous amounts of toxic cobalt and chromium metal ions particles locally into the hip joint and the bloodstream.
This metal ion release causes severe local tissue reactions and premature failure complications that require painful revision surgery to remove and replace the implant. This metallic debris causes the medical condition known as metallosis.
The FDA announced warnings about metal on metal hip implant complications.
J&J DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip trials
The first Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial in 2014 ended with a win for the defense.
In the second Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial in 2016, the five plaintiffs were awarded a total of $500 million. The jury award was reduced to $151 million, in order to comply with Texas law governing punitive damages.
In the third J&J DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip bellwether trial in 2017 the six damaged Pinnacle patients were awarded more than $1 billion. That judgment was later reduced to $543 million.
Injured by a failed J&J DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip?
If you think you may have a J&J DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip and are experiencing pain caused by metal corrosion or have suffered a hip failure requiring full revision and emergency care, please call Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm at 214-390-3189.
Read more DePuy Pinnacle articles here