How Much Compensation to Expect From a DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuit

If you are a recipient of an ASR XL Acetabular System or an ASR Hip Resurfacing System, both of which were recalled by DePuy Orthopaedics and its parent, Johnson & Johnson, you’ve probably heard conflicting accounts concerning how much DePuy is willing to pay ASR injury victims. In determining the amount of compensation you might be entitled to, it is helpful to consider two things: the general types of damages available to people injured by defective products, and the settlement values obtained by some DePuy hip replacement recipients.

‘Reasonable and Customary’ Undefined

First, however, consider what DePuy has promised. On its Web site, the company asserts that it “intends to cover reasonable and customary costs of treatment if you need services associated with the recall of ASR, including revision surgery if it is necessary.” Elsewhere on its site, DePuy names specific out-of-pocket expenses that it might deem “reasonable,” including lost work time and travel expenses.

But the orthopedic manufacturer has yet to provide any details on how, or even if, it intends to compensate you for the pain and suffering your DePuy hip replacement might have caused. And even worse, DePuy will not pay you a cent until you call their claim center and sign a medical release form. In other words, only after you speak to a representative who owes you no duty of confidentiality and waive your rights will DePuy even consider compensating you. To protect your interests, you should not call DePuy or sign any document the company provides without first speaking with a DePuy hip replacement lawyer.

‘Economic’ and ‘Non-Economic’ Damages Possible for Plaintiffs

Now that you know DePuy’s stance on compensating ASR injury victims, you should understand what you might be legally entitled to. In a typical product liability case (such as when a defective medical device has injured you), a victim can potentially recover a combination of economic damages (such as medical bills and lost wages) and non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering). For a complete overview of these different damages, you should visit this site. The most important thing for you to understand, though, is that there is no set amount of damages that applies to all cases, because individual circumstances vary considerably.

Nevada Plaintiffs’ DePuy Settlement Gives Clues for the Future

In August 2012, Bloomberg announced that three women who underwent revision surgery for their ASRs sued DePuy in Nevada state court and reached a $600,000 settlement instead of going forward with their scheduled trial in December 2012, according to anonymous sources at DePuy. Although the average settlement comes to $200,000 per person, Bloomberg interviewed a business professor at the University of Michigan who claimed that the settlement was at the “low end” of what DePuy should have expected to pay. He gave a settlement range between $200,000 and $500,000.

The settlement did not go smoothly because after the Bloomberg article was published the plaintiffs filed a “Motion Striking Confidentiality from Settlement Agreement” because they believed DePuy leaked confidential settlement information to Bloomberg to reduce other plaintiffs’ lawsuit expectations. At a settlement hearing a week later, the plaintiffs withdrew their motion and claimed they would resolve the problem out of court.

RLG Will Fight for You

The actual result of the Nevada DePuy settlement will probably remain unknown, so it remains to be seen how the thousands of DePuy ASR lawsuits will play out. The fact remains, however, that taking legal action might be your best—and only—chance to recover compensation from DePuy. An attorney from the Rottenstein Law Group can provide you with a much clearer idea of how much money you might be entitled to. To speak with a DePuy hip replacement lawyer, call Rottenstein Law Group at 1-877-312-3274 or contact us online.