In the wake of Johnson & Johnson’s 2010 recall of its ASR artificial hip implants, the company was slammed with more than 10,000 lawsuits. Loren Kransky’s was the first to make it to court.
In closing arguments on Thursday, Kransky’s lawyers argued that J&J’s DePuy unit knew about the artificial hip’s defects when Kransky had one implanted in 2007. He claims that metal debris shed from the implant, poisoning his tissues and causing pain.
J&J argued that there was no medical consensus on what levels of the metals—chromium and cobalt—would damage patients.
"Ultimately the product did not perform as DePuy wanted it to perform or expected it to perform," said J&J lawyer Michael Zellers.
Kransky is seeking $5 million for the suffering he underwent, and up to $179 million in punitive damages.
Read more at Thomson Reuters.
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