Johnson & Johnson
subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics has agreed to settle a DePuy ASR hip lawsuit on
the eve of trial. The case would have been the first “bellwether” trial in a
California state court consolidation of ASR cases. The Plaintiff, Mr.
Robert Eugene Ottman, was set to begin presenting his case in less than two
weeks in San Francisco. (Ottman v. Johnson & Johnson Services, et al., No.
CGC-12-517391; Calif. Super. Ct., San Francisco Cty.)
The details of the settlement,
including what the amount of the settlement is, are not yet available but have
been confirmed in a statement by the Mr. Ottman’s attorneys. The Court has given the parties two months to file the
necessary dismissal of the complaint.
Depending on the amount and
terms of the settlement, including medical subrogation and future costs, this
development appears to be a good thing. In the consolidated cases in California
alone, there appears to be approximately 2,000 cases filed. This does not
include the Federal MDL, in which there are close to 8,000 cases pending. The
Federal MDL docket, which is centralized in the Northern District of Ohio, is
still awaiting its first bellwether trial. That bellwether has been postponed
twice already and will commence sometime before January 2014. The California
settlement will most likely have some impact on that bellwether trial.
Two other trials involving
DePuy ASR lawsuits have already concluded at the state court level. In March, a
plaintiff was awarded more than $8 million after a Los Angeles Superior Court
jury found that the hip implant was defectively designed. (Kransky v. DePuy,
BC456086, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County). This case was not a
part of the consolidated California docket. However, a jury in Chicago found
for Johnson & Johnson in a second trial just one month later. (Strum v.
DePuy, 2011-L-9352, Circuit Court of Cook County). Both of these results have
been covered on my blog and you can read my earlier posts regarding these
outcomes.
Trials
also are scheduled in state courts in San Francisco in October; in Hackensack,
New Jersey, in October and January; in West Palm Beach, Florida, in November;
in Chicago in December; and in Los Angeles in January 2014.
If you or a
loved one have had hip replacement surgery and have been implanted with a
defective DePuy hip, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills,
pain and suffering, lost wages and other injuries. Our firm is currently
investigating claims for those people who have been implanted with DePuy hip
replacement devices, both ASR and Pinnacle. If you would like a free
case evaluation, please contact Booth Samuels at toll free 1-866-515-8880 or at
booths@pittmandutton.com.
