Three hip implant lawsuits to be settled

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Several months ago, we wrote about Johnson & Johnson facing a number of claims concerning defective hip implants. Such hip implants were recalled in 2010, and Johnson & Johnson faces approximately 8,000 products liability lawsuits concerning such implants. It has now been announced that the company plans on paying $600,000 to settle three of these lawsuits with one of those plaintiffs settling being from New Jersey. The settlements were made before such lawsuits were scheduled to go to trial. Some experts feel these settlements are relatively low and could have been settled for much higher sums. Obviously, a metal implant that is placed inside of the human body is of significant concern if such implant turns out to be defective. The patients in these matters already endured surgical procedures, and now will have to go under the knife again to have the implant removed and possibly replaced. The additional procedure is necessary to prevent further physical suffering to the patient. Such defective implants can lead to deadening of tissue around the hip joint, and can also lead to various foreign substances being deposited into the bloodstream. Experienced personal injury attorneys understand all that goes into the filing of such claims - especially when such claims involve injuries to a large number of individuals. The trick in trying such cases is to provide individual representation for the client, and not allow a manufacturer to lowball a settlement by attempting to settle all cases in the same manner. Injuries will always be different for every client, and so each matter deserves singular attention. It is estimated that approximately 12 percent of the 93,000 hips implanted have failed. This is unacceptable and is the reason why products liability lawsuits are filed to begin with. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, "J&J Said to Pay $600,000 to Settle First Suits Over Hips," by Jef Feeley and David Voreacos, August 21, 2012