Last week, a Texas federal jury found Johnson &
Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., unit liable for more than $1.04 billion in a
six-plaintiff bellwether trial targeting metal-shedding artificial hips that
are part of its Pinnacle line.
This MDL bellwether
trial involved the DePuy Pinnacle implant, not to be confused with the recalled
DePuy ASR implant. The Pinnacle implant was designed with a metal, rather than
a safer ceramic or polyethylene, socket. The metal-on-metal design causes the
socket to rub against the ball head, which can lead to corrosion and can cause
bone and surrounding tissue to erode over time. All of the Plaintiffs in the
trial had to undergo revision surgeries to replace the implants and repair the
damage. Jurors heard testimony that Johnson & Johnson and DePuy
aggressively marketed the implants and employed tactics that included paying
kickbacks to surgeons for using the device although they were aware of safer
alternatives.
The verdict includes
more than $30 million in actual damages for the six plaintiffs and more than $1
billion in punitive damages assessed against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy.
This is the not the
first loss for J&J and DePuy over the Pinnacle. In March 2016, a Dallas
jury awarded more than $500 million to five individuals who suffered similar
physical and medical complications caused by the controversial Pinnacle hip
implant. DePuy did win the first bellwether trial.
The case is IN
RE: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability
Litigation, MDL 3:11-md-0244
Another
bellwether trial, which will involve 10 patients, has been scheduled by U.S.
District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas for September, 2017.
