Roughly two years ago, while Johnson & Johnson (“J & J”) and its subsidiary company DePuy were busy settling as many as 11,000 DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuits, J & J continued to maintain that the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant was perfectly safe. Johnson & Johnson refused to recall the Pinnacle hip implant, despite the more than 9,000 claims from Pinnacle victims. At that time, the Pinnacle hip lawsuits alleged the Pinnacle was defectively designed.
Plaintiffs claimed when they engaged in any level of activity, the metal parts of the implant would come into contact with one another, rubbing together and causing cobalt and chromium ions to imbed into surrounding tissues or to enter the bloodstream.
The ions which burrowed into surrounding hip tissues caused such things as:
- Severe inflammation in the hip and thigh areas;
- Chronic pain in the thigh, hip and groin areas;
- Death of tissue and bone;
- Failure of the hip implant;
- Bone and tissue deterioration, and
- The necessity of hip revision surgery.
When the cobalt and chromium ions entered the bloodstream, the effects were even more damaging:
- Chronic, severe headaches;
- Visual disturbances;
- Neurological problems, including memory loss;
- DNA disruption;
- Thyroid and kidney issues;
- Cardiovascular problems;
- Vertigo;
- Hearing loss, and
- Gastrointestinal disorders.
Plaintiffs Claim DePuy and J & J Exhibited a Failure to Warn
Plaintiffs in the Pinnacle cases believe J & J and DePuy were well-aware of the flaws in the Pinnacle device, however rather than issuing a recall of the device, marketing tactics were actually increased. The companies claimed the Pinnacle was the best hip implant option for younger patients with an active lifestyle, yet some patients found themselves unable to even walk without pain less than a year after the device was implanted.
J & J Agrees to Settle Pinnacle Hip Lawsuit Claims
Fairly recently, Johnson & Johnson reversed its prior position on the Pinnacle hip lawsuits, agreeing to settle the bulk of consumers’ lawsuits which alleged the Pinnacle hips were defective and that J & J and DePuy misled patients about the danger of the implants. This settlement agreement came two weeks after J & J agreed to pay $120 million to resolve claims of deceptive marketing to state attorneys general. In an earlier Pinnacle settlement, Johnson & Johnson paid about $125,000 per case to resolve roughly one-third of the more than 10,000 Pinnacle implant claims.
It is not entirely clear whether this latest settlement would cover all remaining Pinnacle hip lawsuits. Over the past two years, Dallas juries have ordered J & J to pay nearly $1.7 billion in Pinnacle hip implant claims, although several of those verdicts were thrown out on appeal or reduced by a judge. Consumer have alleged that Johnson & Johnson and DePuy also misled them regarding how long the devices would last. While DePuy marketed the Pinnacle implants as having a five-year rate of more than 90 percent (i.e, at five years post-surgery, at least 90 percent of the implants were as stable as when they were first implanted), European health regulators found that number to be about 5 percent.
Helping Clients Who Suffered Harm from a Johnson & Johnson Pinnacle Hip Implant
It is difficult to know which victims of this latest Johnson & Johnson Pinnacle hip implant settlement will benefit. Those with Pinnacle hip injuries can find themselves severely injured with no way to pay medical expenses or meet their regular monthly bills. At USClaims, we offer pre-settlement funding, if a case is qualified for pre-settlement funding then we would purchase a portion of the proceeds of the anticipated court judgment or settlement for some cash now. USClaims only gets paid if a case is won or has reached a settlement! Apply now or call us today at 1-877-USCLAIMS to learn more.
