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DePuy, Hip Replacement, Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, Lawyer, Medicine, New York TImes, Patient, UNited States
Johnson & Johnson to Offer $2.5 Billion Hip Device Settlement – NYTimes.com.
Johnson & Johnson to Offer $2.5 Billion Hip Device Settlement
By BARRY MEIER
Published: November 19, 2013
Lawyers for Johnson & Johnson and patients injured by a flawed hip implant were expected to introduce a multibillion-dollar plan Tuesday to settle thousands of lawsuits, but it was not clear whether the deal would satisfy enough claimants.
Under the agreement, according to people briefed on the plan, the medical products giant will pay some $2.475 billion in compensation to an estimated 8,000 patients who have been forced to have the all-metal artificial hip removed and replaced with another device.
Separately, the company has agreed to pay all medical costs related to such procedures, expenses that could raise the deal’s cost to Johnson & Johnson to some $3 billion, said those familiar with the proposal, who did not want to be identified.
The typical patient payment for pain and suffering caused by the device will be about $250,000 before legal fees, under the plan. Based on standard agreements, plaintiffs’ lawyers would receive about one-third of the overall payout, or more than $800 million, with those who negotiated the plan emerging as big winners.
Read the full NY Times article here.
Related articles
- Johnson & Johnson Said to Agree to $4 Billion Settlement Over Hip Implants (earlsview.com)
- Johnson & Johnson Said to Agree to $4 Billion Settlement Over Hip Implants (nytimes.com)
- Johnson & Johnson DePuy hip implant settlement reported (lawprofessors.typepad.com)
- Johnson & Johnson Investors Sweat, but the Dow Bounces Back (fool.com)
- Johnson and Johnson Agrees to Settlement To Reach as High as $4 Billion to Resolve Patient Lawsuits With Flawed Hip Replacement Devices (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)
- Johnson & Johnson Reaches $4 Billion Settlement Over Hip Implants (theatlanticwire.com)
- J&J Said to Reach $4 Billion Deal to Settle Hip Lawsuits (bloomberg.com)
- Johnson & Johnson to pay $4 billion settlement over metal-on-metal hip implants: Report (cbsnews.com)
- How Did This Company Lose Over $6 Billion in 2 Weeks? (fool.com)
- Gray and White Law Provides Expert Commentary on $4 Billion Expected Settlement in Johnson & Johnson DePuy ASR LawsuitsWhich Is Higher Than Previously Estimated (prweb.com)
Earl's View 
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!! Have said all along that the only ‘winners’ in this would be the lawyers, they wouldn’t have gotten involved if their wasn’t a dollar in it! As you can see I am having a bad morning!! I just wish these bastards could ‘walk in my shoes’ (if you could call it walking) for a day or two, then see what they think about their ‘generous’ offer for pain and suffering!! Luv to all the hipsters, keep on fighting and don’t accept this ‘corporate deal’!! We all deserve much better than this! Stu
Right you are! I have made my feelings known as well.
I don’t know how any of our atty could even think about agreeing to this joke of an offer.. f.u. johnson and johnson.. and to the the judge, what the hell are you thinking.. he is taipking the easy road out.. he is incompetent to handle such a case.. its a joke.. what about wages lost, and future wages.. what about all the pain many of us are still going throug.. vote no everyone..
Its all about the money, honey… as the saying goes… then there are those S&N bastards…. we will never see justice from them. My revised hip still gives me hell, even though it is better than the S&N shit. And then of course the left hip needs replacing – Hobson’s choice….
Bad hair day too…
Earl
No, we will never see S & N do the right thing – they are dirty bastards… it’s a crime what they’ve done. At least J & J are admitting they are wrong. I think there are more suffers from S & N even. The whole thing is unbelievable.
The sad part is Connie that there is NO ADMISSION of wrong what-so-ever!! I have heard that a few major law firms have been sitting back waiting to see what transpires with this case (in Australia at least) before thay launch on behalf of Birmingham and other MOM patients, apparently there is a ‘test case’ being put together in the UK against S&N! I have been involved in argument with J&J, the Australian Orthopaedic Association (the Doctors) and even a Government inquiry here and sadly there has never been any admission of ‘guilt’, ‘wrong’ or heaven forbid an apology!! They just don’t give a shit, all we can all do is keep standing up, and make sure that they pay somehow!!
AMEN Stu, this is all about a tontine of lawyers taking what THEY can get now, and to Hell with their clients. Hopefully, their clients will stand up (those who are able) and resist this so-called settlement. Makes me want to puke.
The Judge should never approve this settlement, but I am sure he will because he does not want to hear all these cases!
What can the average Joe Lunch Bucket do? J&J has billions to spread around and they can buy justice. Meanwhile, Ole Joe has little or no choice to accept their crumbs.
The Strum case in IL spooked all the lawyers. I can just hear them now——we must settle these cases or we could end up with zip! And zip does not feed piranhas!
Ron
Interesting. Is this set in stone or can the lawyers still try to get the 4 billion expected? I am watching with interest as I sit here trying to mend my fractured femur and recover from my 7th surgery in 5 years!
Barbara, I am very sorry to hear what you have been through.
I do not know if this settlement is carved in stone or not, but I believe the leaks were intentional to test the water. The lawyers want to get as much as they can for themselves. When they reach a point where further pushing might result in their getting zip, they back off and pressure their clients to settle. I believe they have backed off and will push their clients to settle.
mmmm not as much as everyone thought… So how much just saying in legal fees will these people have to pay out of that?. what about medicare payback ect???
30% minimum. Good question about Medicare. What if Medicare wants their money back? What about future surgeries? What about Cobalt and Chromium exposure?
Who knows? But, caution read all the fine print!
Belinda and Ron,
I read that all liens for medical treatment related to the failed hip will be paid by DePuy.
Yes, I read that as well. Remember a lien is a legal claim on property. The chances are, you would be aware of a lien being placed on your property.
What you might not be aware of is something called subrogation. For example, if Medicare paid for your DePuy ASR surgery expense, and DePuy pays you $200,000. Might Medicare come back to you to be reimbursed for the monies they paid DePuy. I do not know how this “settlement” addresses Medicare claims. The fact that no lien has been filed against you, may not mean that you could not be responsible to a third party like Medicare if they paid for your DePuy ASR surgery.
Be careful, and consult with a professional or trusted friend before you sign anything.
Please use caution as this is a very complex matter, and until you fully understand, DO NOT AGREE!
Best wishes,
To all that see this blog and have kept up with this whole fiasco.. we all need to group together and see what else we have for options.. ie: firing all of our attys.. our attys are supposed to be looking out for our best interests, and clearly they have been looking out for their own pockets.. for instance, if you look up what is involved by your atty in an mdl case, there is little to no work on their behalf.. so why are we going to just hand over 30% to them if they are not looking out for our best interests.. many of us are still going through pain management, pt, and all of a sudden new medical problems we have never had before, because of the chromium and cobalt poisoning.. what about our future and past lost wages? Wouldn’t that be in our best interest? I think we need to have a few of us voted in to be present with the group of attys that are making decisions based on their pocket not ours.. this is a scam.. j n j. Are showing just how crooked they are.. I for one am saying I refuse this Joke of an offer.. and hope you all will follow.. we need to be more involved with this so called group of attys..
In Australia they take up to 50% if they have funded the litigation on a no win no pay basis.
50%???. Omg…. We were told lawyer fees wouldn’t be that much. Husband is in a class action though.
Depends on the firm but 45% is common here.
One way to avoid the attorney fee issue is to simply fire your attorney now. The settlement provides instructions on how to submit a claim, and someone with average intelligence should be able to navigate the claims process (unless designed by the same geniuses that designed Obamacare). At least in California, you can terminate your attorney at any time, and the attorney can only claim reasonable compensation for time and costs. It is highly unlikely that the majority of attorneys have provided enough services to justify the substantial fees as alleged in the article
The English Bard was correct 4 centuries ago when he said, “start by killing all the lawyers.” Of course, I quote metaphorically, but the point is well taken.
I do not know if Mr. Bell is represented by an attorney, but it might be a good idea to read the attorney-client contract. It is not that EZ to fire your attorney because it will result in dividing the “pie” into even smaller pieces.
I agree with Mr. Bell in that this “settlement” is very weak, and does not address the continuing issues being faced by thousands of victims.
As I see present matters, the only hope would be to prevail in some state courts like Kranski (sp) did in CA. Of course J&J will do all within their power to settle those cases. A large verdict in a State Court could evaporate this settlement offer.
As mentioned previously, the IL case (Strum v DePuy) took the wind out of the sails of attorneys representing clients in the MDL. Ms. Strum was awarded nothing and so were her attorneys. The MDL attorneys did not wish to risk the same fate——-to hell with the clients we are going to take what we can and move on. Or, as they will tell you, “take this settlement offer and move on with your life, we did the best we could do.” I believe in should also be noted that the Strum trial was conducted in the back yard of DePuy headquarters. Not insignificant.
Ron is right, a fact that has easily been overlooked is that indeed the Strum case was conducted on ‘home turf’ for DePuy/J&J and most definitely this case has spooked a few of the lawyers in the MDL. I have had a chat with a few journos and lawyers here in the last couple of days and they are very surprised that the USA claimants/clients are even considering accepting this offer as it now formally stands. They seem to think that J&J are banking on the majority of the law firms ‘needing to be paid’ so they will ‘advise’ (read pressure) their clients into acceptance of the offer and also that the majority of claimants are elderly and ‘just want this to be over’. All I can say as a younger person who is involved in all of this, just remember, it is never going to be over, a payout will not improve your health miraculously, once you have paid back your medical expenses, legal fees etc, the chances of actually having anything left are slim, so why not fight for a fair deal, all J&J are interested in is crossing names off an ever-increasing list of people that they have harmed, THEY JUST WANT YOU TO GO AWAY!! The sad thing is, we all only get one shot at this, so unfortunately we have to make the most of the opportunity, as it is very possible that we might well be the trailblazers for the S&N (and other MOM) patients to follow!! It is simply not worth ‘cheapening’ the torture that we have all been put through to keep J&J and a group of lawyers happy that they have ‘got it out of the way’ and been paid!!
At a very minimum seek the advice of several people you trust before accepting this “settlement”. I know it has been a long time for many of you, and many suffer and will continue to suffer as a result of the conduct of this defendant. Consider the parties who negotiated this settlement. What were their interests? Are they the same as your interest? The chances are overwhelming the negotiators’ of this “settlement” did not even know you, and your own lawyer in all likelihood was not involved.
The best person to look out for you is YOURSELF.
I have bought tires with a better warranty than this! In fact, I am reminded of a tire warranty———how long have you had the hip in your body? They plan to charge you for the wear!
I got a lawyer newsletter yesterday.The costs/liens for medical costs will be paid for over and above the settlement amounts so adding that would bring the amount to approx $350.000 per person as initially thought. They will take a few things into consideration such as age, length of time the hip was implanted, whether the patient has bilateral implants or not among other things. It seems to me that it is not a lot when you consider loss of earnings or potential earnings. I don’t know what I would do in that situation though as the Strum V’s Depuy case is definitely a factor. Apparently in these product liability cases throughout the years, the device manufacturers have won more often than not.
Kransky in CA was awarded $8.5 million. Strum in IL was awarded nothing.
That represents a wide range and probably both are extreme. There is a vast middle ground that should be explored. Given the facts as I know them, I believe Plaintiffs would receive favorable jury verdicts over 70% of the time. Hopefully, as more cases are decided at trial, this settlement offer will be revealed as very weak indeed.
The 94% participation rate requirement or we take our money off the table is almost laughable. I believe J&J would be very happy to settle half these cases.
I was thinking about this again and yes, it’s a paltry amount. As the government keeps raising the retirement age, according to them I have to work for another 16 years before I can get a pension or medicare health insurance. What a joke. I’m sitting here recovering from my 7th surgery in a 5 year period, with a fractured femur that occurred removing my latest recalled hip. I’m absolutely dreading going back to work and wondering how I’m going to get through each day never mind the next 16 years.