Much like the elderly patients the company is catering to, Johnson & Johnson’s hips have been giving it trouble lately.
The company’s DePuy unit recalled its metal ASR artificial hip implants in 2010 and has since faced more than 10,000 lawsuits. The first of those cases to go to trial did not go so well for J&J—the jury awarded plaintiff Loren Kransky $8.3 million in compensatory damages. It could’ve been worse, though. The jury did not hit the company with any punitive damages, finding that DePuy properly warned of the implant’s risks.
Now, on the heels of that ordeal comes a second trial. This case comes from Illinois nurse Carol Strum, who claims that J&J failed to warn of the risks associated with the hip implant. Strum, like Kransky, developed high levels of cobalt and chromium after receiving the implant.
“The company believes the evidence will show ASR XL was properly designed,” Lorie Gawreluk, a spokeswoman for DePuy, told Bloomberg, adding “the product was thoroughly and appropriately reviewed by the FDA.”
Follow J&J’s hip problems on InsideCounsel:
Case claims Johnson & Johnson knew about hip implant defects before recall
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