March 24, 2020 - In 2017, the Settlement Oversight Committee for the DePuy ASR Settlement made some updates to the original 2015 Master Settlement Agreement’s by adding an extension. The original DePuy Master Settlement Agreement was put into place for the thousands of consumers harmed by a DePuy ASR recalled hip implant. The recall occurred in August 2010, after the FDA received hundreds of adverse event reports.
At one point in time, there were more than 11,000 lawsuits filed against DePuy and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. Finally, in November 2013, the first settlement agreement was announced, with an estimated cost of at least $2.5 billion. A second round of settlements took place in March 2015, including more of those victims harmed by the ASR. The patients who did not qualify under either settlement agreement had their lawsuits dismissed, then could refile at a later date.
The 2017 Extension Agreement for DePuy ASR Metal on Metal Hip Implant Victims The 2017 DePuy ASR Extension Agreement covers compensable revisions, using the same criteria for revisions surgeries which occurred between January 31, 2015, and February 15, 2017, plus cases which were eligible to participate in Round 1 or Round 2 can potentially be waived in, if they passed or missed prior rounds. The criteria are basically the same, with the following exceptions:
- The deadline for enrollment under the 2017 Extension Agreement has been extended from May 5, 2017 to June 19, 2017.
- The deadline for filing a claim from the Extraordinary Injury Fund is now October 27, 2017.
- Future injuries are considered to be any injuries which occur after September 1, 2017.
- Anything prior to September 1, 2017 will be considered under the Past Matrix level for any Part B Extraordinary Injury Fund claim.
- The Brown Green Portal will have Part B Matrix for Extraordinary Injury Fund Claims for the DePuy ASR 2017 Extension Agreement posted by next week.
- Under the 2017 DePuy ASR Extension Agreement, revisions which occurred between 8-9 years following the original implant will only be eligible for $100,000, however the Extension Agreement allows a supplement to this base payment with funds from the Extraordinary Injury Fund. Accordingly, if you are a qualified claimant with a revision date which is 8-9 years following the original ASR implantation, and you are enrolled in the Settlement under the 2017 Extension Agreement, you could receive an additional $25,000 from the EIF fund ($125,000 total).
- Under the 2017 DePuy ASR Extension Agreement, revisions which occurred between 9-10 years following the original implant will only be eligible for $50,000, however the Extension Agreement allows a supplement to this base payment with funds from the Extraordinary Injury Fund. Accordingly, if you are a qualified claimant with a revision date which is 9-10 years following the original ASR implantation, and you are enrolled in the Settlement under the 2017 Extension Agreement, you could receive an additional $50,000 from the EIF fund ($100,000 total).
- If you underwent revision surgery within the 8-10-year range following original ASR implantation, you do not need to submit a Green Form—Brown Greer will automatically generate an EIF claim on your behalf.
There is additional information regarding this new Settlement Extension which could be important to you as a DePuy ASR victim. If you are not yet represented by an attorney, the Claims Processor is expected to make the ASR Portal available to you at some time in the future. The ASR Portal allows users to exchange information with the Claims Processor in a quick, efficient manner, so it could be extremely beneficial to your claim to have an attorney represent your interests. If you are an unrepresented DePuy ASR Metal on Metal Hip Implant victim, contact a well-qualified DePuy ASR Hip Injury Attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options.