Johnson & Johnson Offers $2.5 Billion to Settle DePuy Hip Lawsuits

By Renee Nordstrand on December 9, 2013

Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson said that the medical device manufacturing giant will pay approximately $2.5 billion to settle some 8,000 lawsuits brought by plaintiffs, who claim they have suffered serious complications from defective DePuy ASR hip implants.

The proposed settlement is less than what Bloomberg News had speculated in late November when it reported that J&J was prepared to pay out a record $4 billion to settle those same cases.

The agreement, which was announced in the Federal District Court in Toledo, specifies that $2 billion will be set aside for basic awards. An additional $475 million has been reserved for people who suffered more extensive injuries. J&J also announced that medical costs for those patients would be paid under a separate $3 billion dollar fund.

While the average amount each patient would be paid under the proposed agreement is $250,000 for pain and suffering, that amount could fluctuate, depending on the severity of the injuries. J&J speculated that only 10 percent of plaintiffs would qualify to be paid additional monies from the $475 million pool.

The amount of the settlement may rise, depending on the amount of claimants who join the proceedings. As it is, 94 percent of the plaintiffs must agree to the terms of the settlement for it to be approved.

If the agreement goes through, the settlement each plaintiff will receive will be determined by various factors, including:

• Whether the patient smoked,
• The severity of the injuries,
• How long the patient had the implant before it was removed,
• The patient’s age, or
• Whether the patient is overweight.

The DePuy hip implant injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Reneé J. Nordstrand will be keeping close tabs on the development of this proposed settlement. If you have questions about the settlement and what it means to you or if believe you suffered an injury due to a defective DePuy ASR hip implant, contact us at our Santa Barbara office at (805) 962-2022 or our Encino office at (818) 981-3530.  As always, your consultation will be free.