DePuy Hip Settlements Could Top $4 Billion

There are 1, 400 new DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip patients who are now eligible to participate in the U.S. Settlement Program.

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. has agreed to extend the existing U.S. Settlement Program to include eligible ASR hip implant patients in the U.S. who had surgery to replace their ASR hip after August 31, 2013, and on or before January 31, 2015. The existing U.S. Settlement Program was announced in November 2013 and has compensated eligible ASR patients in the U.S. who had surgery to replace their ASR hip as of August 31, 2013.

The agreement between the company and the Court-appointed committee of lawyers representing ASR plaintiffs was announced on February 20, 2015.

Mindy Tinsley, a DePuy spokeswoman said by extending the benefits to an additional group of ASR patients, the company is, “again providing fair compensation to U.S. ASR patients without the delay and uncertainty of protracted litigation. DePuy has been committed to the well-being of ASR patients worldwide, and the company continues to advance innovative treatment options to serve those who need joint replacement surgery.”

1, 400 New Patients

The new agreement allows the 1, 400 new patients who’ve had ASR hips removed since 2013 to seek about $300, 000 each in compensation. They join approximately 8, 000 other cases that were part of the original agreement. The existing Settlement Program has now resulted in payments for the vast majority of the more than 7, 500 patients who enrolled in the program.

$4 Billion

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the extension, which will cost around $420 million, pushes the total cash compensation payments to about $3 billion and will resolve more than 90% of current patients suits over hip removals. Carl Tobias, a product-liability law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia told Bloomberg that the total cost of the settlements over the ASR implant will exceed $4 billion by the time DePuy resolves all implant cases.

That includes payments DePuy has agreed to pay to cover hip recipients’ medical costs and payments to the company’s lawyers

Recall

In August 2010, DePuy issued a voluntary recall of the ASR Hip System after receiving new information from the U.K. National Joint Registry as part of the company’s ongoing surveillance of post-market data concerning the ASR Hip System, which showed a revision rate that was not in line with data previously reported in that registry. The company says the product continues to perform well in some patients.