Hip Lawsuits Settled For $2.5 Billion

Thanks the good work of Personal injury lawyers across the country Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle 8000 lawsuits brought by hip replacement patients, who had to have the metal ball and socket implant removed and replaced. As if the original hip replacement surgery was not painful enough.

The deal provides each Plaintiff with approximately $250,000.00.

The artificial hip, known as the Articular Surface Replacement, was sold for eight years to some 35,000 people in the U.S.

The lawsuits alleged, and more importantly the lawyers were able to prove that Johnson and Johnson sold faulty implants. To that end, internal J&J documents revealed that company officials were aware of problems with the device as far back as 2008, however, J&J did not pull the implant from the market until 2010.

Knee and hip implants are expected to last anywhere between 10-20 years. Often times, individuals who sustain knee or hip trauma from an accident will require an implant. When we represent Plaintiffs who will require an implant we factor in the cost of replacing the implant every 10 years. This is part of a life care plan we use to prove our future economic damages. However, the J&J implants fail within 5 years, and this could mean at least one additional surgery during the life expectancy of a Plaintiff.

As if the original hip replacement surgery was not painful enough, thousands of Plaintiff’s will have to undergo additional surgeries.