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Australian DePuy Hip Recall Class Action Lawsuit Gains Strength – Hip Implants

Australian DePuy Hip Recall Class Action Lawsuit Gains Strength

From Rottenstein Law Group 
DePuy Brochure

Click Here to Download Rottenstein Law Group’s DePuy ASR Recall Brochure

It was thanks in part to the Australia National Joint Registry that orthopedists and government regulators discovered that the metal-on-metal DePuy ASR hip replacement systems failed at higher-than-normal rates. This knowledge precipitated the hip recall. However, some 5,500 Australians received the recalled hip devices, out of the 93,000 total worldwide. As a result, the Australian DePuy hip recallclass action lawsuit has gained momentum.

Litigants Claiming $200 Million in Damages

A woman who received her ASR device in 2005 filed the lawsuit as the class representative in June 2011. She underwent a revision procedure in January of that year, though the recall began earlier in August 2010. As of April 2012, 1,000 individuals have joined the Australian DePuy hip recall class action lawsuit, and they are collectively claiming $200 million ($203 million in U.S. dollars). The case is currently proceeding in Sydney Federal Court.

In late 2011 the Australian Senate held hearings on the ASR recall, and the head of the National Joint Registry testified that it took the government three years to recommend the ASR be withdrawn from the Australian market.

For Americans, MDL Is Better Than Class Actions

Typically, when many people are injured by a defective product, the first impulse is to combine resources to form a class action lawsuit. However the amount of compensation from a class action lawsuit is often a flat amount distributed evenly among plaintiffs. Those whose injuries are more severe tend to receive the same amount as those with milder injuries. Consequently, the United States’ justice system created multidistrict litigation (MDL), which provides the benefits of class action lawsuits while allowing plaintiffs to maintain their individual cases. As of March 12, 2012, the DePuy ASR MDL contains 3,665 cases, and 2,000 more cases are pending before state courts.

RLG Represents DePuy ASR Recipients

With any luck, the plaintiffs in the Australian DePuy hip replacement class action lawsuit will receive the compensation they deserve. For those who have not yet sued DePuy and its parent, Johnson & Johnson, the risk of proceeding without experienced legal counsel is that the amount of compensation from a lawsuit might be greater than what recipients can recover via DePuy’s recall reimbursement program. A plaintiff can claim full medical costs, lost income, transportation costs, pain and suffering, and punitive damages. For a free, confidential legal consultation with a recall lawyer from the Rottenstein Law Group, click on this link or call 1-877-619-5087.

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