On November 16, 2017, a Texas federal jury awarded six individual plaintiffs a combined $247 million verdict in the fourth bellwether trial in the DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant multidistrict litigation (“MDL”). The staggering decision represents the third consecutive nine-figure verdict in the DePuy Pinnacle MDL.
The jury in this latest bellwether found defendants Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Orthopedics Inc. liable for a long list of claims including: negligent design, design defect, manufacturing defect, inadequate warning, negligent manufacture, negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation to the surgeons who performed the initial hip replacement surgeries, fraudulent concealment from the plaintiffs and the surgeons, as well as deceptive business practices.Plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation all similarly suffer intense pain from the deterioration of the implant, loss of hip movement, severe tissue damage around the surgical site and in some cases, walking with a permanent limp.
The impressive verdict is broken down into $90 million in punitive damages to be paid by Johnson & Johnson and $78 million in punitive damages to be paid by DePuy. An additional $77 million was awarded for past and future medical expenses as well as pain and suffering. Additionally, $1.7 million was awarded to four spouses of the plaintiffs for loss of consortium.
The consolidated cases are: Alicea et al. v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. et al., Case No.: 3:15-cv-03489; Barzel v. DePuy et al., Case No.: 3:16-cv-01245; Kirschner v. DePuy et al., Case No.: 3:16-cv-01526; Miura v. DePuy et al., Case No.: 3:13-cv-04119; Stevens v. DePuy et al., Case No.: 3:14-cv-01776; and Stevens v. DePuy et al., Case No.: 3:14-cv-02341, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
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