Initial Status For DePuy MDL Will Occur This Week
Hundreds of recipients of DePuy Orthopaedics' ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System have filed for individual and class action lawsuits when the hip implants were recalled from the market. Both these hip replacement devices fail within 5 years of implantation in about one in eight recipients. An average hip prosthesis is known to last for 15 to 20 years. When one recieves a defective hip implant, he or she would need to undergo a risky and costly revision surgery. The second hip replacement procedure is made even more difficult with complications such as cobalt and chromium poisoning. Compensation for monetary and non-monetary losses are being tried to recover by the plaintiffs. Twelve to thirteen percent of the 93,000 recipients are known to have been affected by the DePuy hip recall. All federal lawsuits against the company have now fallen under an multidistrict litigation ruling.
The case was given to Judge David A. Katz of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo. An initial status conference will occur in January 20 to determine which lawyer will be assigned to certain aspects of the case. December 23 is the last day of filing for applications to the leadership positions. Two minutes is all that is given to each attorney for them to be able to state their reasons for wanting the positions.
The plaintiffs and defendant would easily have equal access to pretrial information thanks to the Multidistrict Litigation. Considering the number of recipients filing for DePuy lawsuits, an MDL would centralize the process to make for an easier litigation procedure. On account of having different case details, plaintiffs can reconcile the information to fit their individual case instead of settling for a single sum that is handed out in class action suits. Product liability lawsuits, therefore, would benefit more from an MDL rather than class action suits.
Based on the DePuy lawsuit's progress, legal experts now believe that the cases could reach 4,000 in number. If you have been affected by the defects of the DePuy products, you should contact a lawyer immediately. Learn more about the DePuy case in the hip replacement recall information site.
