The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has chosen to consolidate the DePuy ASR litigation into the the Northern District of Ohio under Judge Katz. This will allow the lawsuits to be coordinated under one judge for pretrial litigation in order to avoid duplicative discovery, inconsistent rulings, and to conserve the resources of all parties.
While the cases that are transfered into the MDL will be handled collectively, each lawsuit retains it’s own identity. If the MDL does not resolve a case it is transfered back to the court where it originated.
The DePuy ASR Hip System was recalled in August after it was reported to have a 13% failure rate. Similar implants last 15 years or longer while 1 in 8 patients had to have theirs replaced within the first 5 years. The failure of this hip system can cause problem such as hip pain, hearing loss, vision loss, broken bones, and any problem resulting from complications in revision surgery. Plaintiff’s attorneys anticipate thousand of DePuy ASR lawsuits to be filed around the country.
If you have or ever had a DePuy ASR implant contact the attorneys at Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP to speak with a medical device litigation expert.
