New York, NY (PRWEB) January 15, 2013
DePuy ASR hip lawsuits continue to move forward in a centralized proceeding now underway in New Jersey Superior Court, Bergen County, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to court documents, the next Status Conference in the New Jersey DePuy ASR hip litigation will be held on January 24, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. The litigations first trials will begin on September 9 and October 21, 2013.(In Re DePuy ASR Hip Implants Litigation, BER-L-3971-11)
According to court records, 637 DePuy ASR hip lawsuits are currently pending in the New Jersey litigation. Bloomberg.com recently reported that Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit are facing more than 10,000 claims stemming from the recall. Most of those lawsuits are pending in a multidistrict litigation underway in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio. The first trial in the federal DePuy ASR hip litigation will begin on May 6, 2013, while the second will begin on July 8, 2013. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation MDL 2197). *
We continue to hear from victims of the DePuy ASR hip recall who have allegedly suffered severe complications, including implant failure and metallosis. We look forward to significant progress in this litigation in the coming year, says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The firm is currently offering free legal evaluations to individuals allegedly injured by DePuy ASR hip implants.
DePuy ASR Hip Lawsuits
The DePuy ASR hip recall was issued in August 2010, after the devices were found to have an unacceptably high failure rate. At the time, 93,000 ASR hips were recalled worldwide, including 37,000 in the U.S. Plaintiffs in DePuy ASR hip lawsuits allege metal debris shed from the hips can cause tissue death and may increase metal ions in the bloodstream to harmful levels.*
DePuy is involved in a second multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, involving a metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle Hip Replacement System. Court documents indicate that the first trial in that proceeding is scheduled for September 2014. Bernstein Liebhard LLP Partner, Jeffrey Grand, serves on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the federal DePuy Pinnacle litigation. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation – MDL No. 2244)
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing the safety of metal-on-metal hip implants like the DePuy ASR, amid concerns that metal particles shed by such devices can cause an adverse local tissue reaction in the area surrounding the implant. This may ultimately lead to pain, loosening of the device, and early failure of the implant, as well as dangerous levels of cobalt and chromium in the body. The FDA has ordered more than 30 metal-on-metal hip implant manufacturers to conduct post-market safety studies of these devices as part of its review.**
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is offering free lawsuit consultations to anyone allegedly injured as a result of the DePuy ASR hip and the all-metal Pinnacle device. A wealth of information regarding DePuy hip implant lawsuits is available on Bernstein Liebhard LLPs website, http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com/ . For additional information, please contact one of our attorneys by calling 877-779-1414.
*bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/j-j-facing-trial-over-artificial-hip-claims-in-maryland.html
**fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/MetalonMetalHipImplants/ucm241604.htm
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 10 consecutive years.
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