The DePuy Pinnacle MDL that is consolidated in the Northern District of Texas, has had some new orders issued by the court.

Judge James E. Kinkeade, who is overseeing In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (“MDL No. 2244″), has issued three new orders that will facilitate the discovery phase of the federal DePuy litigation.

DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement Lawsuits

The DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement federal lawsuits have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Dallas, Texas.

New MDL Court Orders

These orders address:
1. the designation of documents, material, or information as confidential; 
2. the remand of an action filed by a plaintiff who had a DePuy ASR hip implant device, and
3. the protocol for the production of documents between plaintiffs and defendants.

More than 1,100 MDL DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits

As of March 31, 2012, there are more than 1,100 DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits pending in the consolidated federal litigation in the Northern District of Texas.

DePuy ASR Metal on Metal Lawsuits

Many plaintiffs have also filed lawsuits, these folks have been implanted with metal-on-metal ASR hip replacement systems, also manufactured by DePuy, in In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (“MDL No. 2197″), which is currently consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The hip replacement lawsuits allege that the ASR hip replacement and the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip replacement systems were defectively designed.

DePuy ASR Hips Recalled in 2010

Johnson & Johnson recalled the ASR hip implants in August 2010, perhaps under pressure from the FDA. According to experts, those who received either a DePuy ASR hip implant or a Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip system and have experienced hip replacement pain or had to undergo revision surgery may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other injuries.