On March 17, 2016, a Texas jury found that the Johnson & Johnson DePuy hip replacement devices were defective, yet the public was not warned of the danger.

In a case alleging design defects in the Pinnacle hip implants system marketed by Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy division, the jury awarded nearly $140 million in total compensatory damages and almost $360 million in punitive damages to five people seriously injured by the faulty medical devices.

According to Reuters, the jurors deliberated for a week following a two-month trial before finding that the Pinnacle implants were defectively designed and that Johnson & Johnson and DePuy failed to warn the public about the risks.

Metal-on-metal hip implant systems cause serious physical pain and suffering. Recent estimates have suggested that 10% of the patients who received the Pinnacle system would see their implants fail in two to three years, causing pain, swelling, loss of mobility, and dislocation problems. The biggest concern, however, is the risk that metal debris from the metal-on-metal contact will release high levels of cobalt and chromium into the surrounding tissue and the bloodstream. Known as metallosis, it can lead to cardiovascular, neurological, renal, and thyroid problems, as well as the destruction of soft tissue, muscle, and bone.

Thousands of cases are pending, and more lawsuits are expected! More than 8,000 Pinnacle lawsuits remain, all of which have been consolidated in Texas federal court, and Sommers Schwartz is representing plaintiffs in several of them.

If you have a metal-on-metal implant manufactured by the DePuy division of Johnson & Johnson, Wright Technologies, Stryker Corporation, or another company, and are experiencing difficulties with pain or mobility, please contact the attorneys in Sommers Schwartz’s Personal Injury Litigation Group today to discuss your situation.