A California Judge rejected DePuy’s request for a new trial, after a jury decision handed down in March left the medical device maker with an $8.3 Million award in a Los Angeles court. The case was the result of the first Complaint to go on trial over the hip implants, which were alleged to be defective and improperly designed, manufactured and marketed. The Judge denied the request as the Plaintiff had provided enough evidence to establish the products were defective in design according to Law360.com. The lead physician designer of the product told jurors in the trial that he wouldn’t implant the device today.
In the second trial in Illinois, Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy was found not liable for any damages. DePuy defended the lawsuit by alleging the Plaintiff’s damages were not caused by the alleged failure of the medical device or design flaws, but rather from the Plaintiff’s own health issues. Although the two verdicts were dramatically different, there remains good settlement value for remaining cases, some of which are estimated to bring settlements as high as $500,000.00. DePuy Orthopaedics issued a voluntary recall for the ASR XL Acetabular Hip System in August of 2010.
This initial case leads over 900 complaints about the hip implants stemming from nearly 11,000 similar cases, which have been filed in a Multi-District Litigation case in the District Court for Northern Texas.