Saturday, January 28, 2012

New Updates for DePuy Hip Implant Victims

The DePuy ASR Litigation Status Conference

On January 23, 2012, the DePuy ASR Litigation Status Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida was held before Judge David Katz. Judge Katz is the United States Federal District Judge assigned by the Multi District Litigation panel of judges to hear all pretrial matters in any DePuy ASR cases filed in federal court.

Judge Katz met with the Executive Committee of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for about an hour privately before he met with all attorneys in open court. The Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee are the dozen or so lawyers Judge Katz assigned as leaders of all plaintiffs’ lawyers who have filed cases in the ASR litigation. The Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee is responsible for gathering evidence (Johnson and Johnson and others have turned over approximately 18,000,000 documents so far), taking depositions of fact and expert witnesses, legal analysis, submitting briefs to the court, and a variety of other tasks.

With 3,300 cases now on file in federal court, and another approximately 1,000 cases on file in state court in California and in New Jersey, you can imagine how slowly things would work if Judge Katz did not rule with a firm hand. There are 900 or so different law firms with cases on file but most firms have a very small number of cases, so Judge Katz has taken the bull by the horns and has taken effective control of the ASR litigation. While he legally has no “power” or “authority” over the state judges, he is very well respected and has more than 17 years experience as a judge. He has made it clear that he wants this case moved expeditiously and he is working with the state court judges and the parties to ensure that happens. The next hearing before Judge Katz will be on March 15 in West Palm Beach.

Cobalt & Chromium Concerns

Many metallosis victims have been frustrated that their orthopedic surgeons are not as well versed about chromium and cobalt blood poisoning as they would have thought. Please remember that asking an orthopedic surgeon about chromium and cobalt poisoning is like asking a carpenter what the most important difference is between a gas stove and an electric stove: it’s simply not something that they typically know much about. Never before in human history have so many thousands of people had metal particles of chromium and cobalt released into their body from the bearing wear from these hips. If you have or suspect you have blood metal poisoning issues, a Toxicologist may be the best person to seek out.

Recent New York Times Article

According to a January 25, 2012 New York Times article, Johnson & Johnson was recently hit with $3,000,000,000 in charges during the fourth quarter of 2011 (additional to the $800,000,000 they set aside more than a year ago). Keep in mind that Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Pinnacle metal on metal hip is also turning into a disaster, so the money is not just for the ASR cases. It appears as if the ASR is by far the worst of the metal on metal hips, but seemingly all of the metal on metal hips are showing abnormal bearing wear and may be leading to chromium and cobalt poisoning in perhaps tens of thousands of Americans in the next few years. It is possible that this debacle could cost Johnson & Johnson between $5,000,000,000 and $10,000,000,000 before it is all over.

FAQ’s

“Just exactly how long is this litigation going to take?” and “How much is my case worth?”
That’s a hard question, but it is possible that Hip Implant victims may see a settlement of the ASR cases in 2012 but litigation could move into 2013. On value of the cases, that’s a huge question mark and depends on the individual circumstances of each case (within common categories such as extent of lost wages, lost wage earning capacity, whether the ASR has been replaced, differences in state law and the like.) The closest comparison might be the Sulzer hip implant litigation, which took place about 10-12 years ago. Sulzer also had lots of victims but the company only had assets in the U.S. and insurance of $1,000,000,000, all of which it tendered. The Sulzer litigation resulted in settlements ranging from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on individual facts. Keep in mind it was a limited asset settlement and it happened 10 years ago. Johnson & Johnson has significant culpability, as well as substantially more assets and insurance. Beyond that, any estimate of the value of the ASR cases is at best an educated guess.

Author: Sullo & Sullo Attorneys

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