In November 2013, Johnson & Johnson announced that it has agreed to pay at least $2.5 billion to settle nearly 8,000 DePuy Orthopaedics Hip Implant lawsuits which have been filed across the country. It is estimated by some accounts that the total settlement figure could reach $4 billion.
The settlement will focus on cases stemming from injuries caused to patients by the recalled DePuy ASR hip system. The more than 8,000 potential injured victims had to have had revision or corrective surgery prior to August 31, 2013.
The deadline to register a claim to be a part of this settlement is January 6, 2014.
“We are urging victims of the DePuy hip system to contact us as soon as possible to determine if they are eligible to be a part of the settlement,” said Reza Torkzadeh, Founder of The Torkzadeh Law Firm.
The settlement will be handled in two phases. Victims must first register before the deadline. They then have until April 1, 2014 to “opt-in.” Once a victim has become a part of the settlement, a baseline value of $250,000.00 per claimant has been set aside. From there, each claimant will be evaluated independently based on injuries, medical bills, history and other various damages that each victim has suffered. Additional compensation may then be awarded.
“There are over 12,000 lawsuits filed across the country against Johnson & Johnson for the defective DePuy hip implant. These metal-on-metal devices are very dangerous and have caused some serious and permanent injuries to victims across the country. This settlement will help some, but not all of the victims who have been impacted by DePuy. We intend on litigating cases on behalf of those who are not compensated under this settlement,” said Torkzadeh.
