A jury in Dallas, Texas ordered DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and its corporate parent company, Johnson & Johnson to pay $1.04billion to six California plaintiffs who had brought a case against DePuy for the failed Pinnacle Ultamet “metal on metal” hip.
After a trial lasting more than two months, the jury took one day to reach a verdict which included a finding that the Defendants were negligent in the design of the Pinnacle Ultamet which was a substantial factor in causing harm to the Defendants. The jury awarded more than $30 million in compensatory damages for the six plaintiffs and more than $1billion in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson still faces nearly 9000 lawsuits over the Pinnacle hip failures in the USA alone.
This is not the first time that Johnson & Johnson have been in court over the Pinnacle Ultamet metal implant. In the first case that went to trial in October 2014, the company was cleared of liability and the plaintiffs were unsuccessful in their actions. In the second case concluded earlier this year before the same Judge, the Honourable Ed Kinkeade a jury awarded nearly $0.5billion.
Hugh James is one of the court appointed lawyers in the UK leading the group litigation against DePuy in respect of the Pinnacle Ultamet hip implant which is listed for a trial due to commence in October 2017. The trial is expected to last for 14 weeks.
