DePuy to Pay $2.5 Billion in Implant Suits

DePuy Orthopaedics, a Warsaw, IN-based subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has informed Judge David Katz, US District Court, Northern District of Ohio, that it has waived its right to walk away from the settlement agreement covering thousands of DePuy ASR hip implant product liability lawsuits reached last November.

The agreement could have allowed DePuy to get out of the deal, which will cost an estimated $2.5 billion, if too few of the approximately 8000 eligible plaintiffs signed on for the payouts.

The settlement will pay about $250,000 each to the eligible plaintiffs and set up a $475 million fund to cover extraordinary medical costs associated with the implants.

Although patients are reportedly still enrolling in the settlement program, "most eligible patients have opted into the program," court documents say. "The company is, therefore, moving forward before the June 1, 2014, decision deadline provided for in the agreement. The exact timing and amount of compensation will depend on a number of factors and circumstances specific to each claim. However, eligible patients with allowed claims can expect payment now that there is certainty the program is moving forward," wrote Judge Katz. The agreement covers ASR patients in the United States who had surgery to replace their ASR hip, known as revision surgery, before August 31, 2013.

Court documents indicate that more than 12,000 lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts across the country since Johnson & Johnson and DePuy began the recall of the metal-on-metal DePuy ASR hip implants in August 2010. The remaining cases are still pending.

"We are committed to the well-being of ASR patients, as demonstrated by the voluntary recall and the program providing support for recall-related care," said Andrew Ekdahl, worldwide president, DePuy Synthes Joint Reconstruction, on the November announcement. "The U.S. settlement program provides compensation for eligible patients without the delay and uncertainty of protracted litigation. DePuy remains committed to our purpose of advancing innovative treatment options to serve those who need joint replacement surgery."

"Our firm is extremely pleased to see this matter moving forward, as we represent many DePuy ASR lawsuit plaintiffs who are qualified to participate in the settlement program," the Digital Journal quotes a Bernstein Liebhard LLP release as saying.

According to DePuy, "The amount of the settlement program has been included as part of previously accrued amounts, and no additional charge to the company's earnings is being recorded in connection with this settlement."

MassDevice.com says the $2.5 billion deal is the largest medical product liability settlement ever, "more than double Sulzer Medica's $1 billion settlement of lawsuits involving its recalled hip implant in 2002." That recall involved about 31,000 devices, MassDevice's Brad Perriello wrote, compared with DePuy's recall of about 93,000 implants.

Stephen Levy  is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.