Numerous multidistrict lawsuits against DePuy Orthopaedics may be comprised into one federal case, pending a U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation hearing Nov. 18.
The Multidistrict Litigation panel, comprised of seven federal and circuit judges who are appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States, will determine the commonality among the separate lawsuits to decide if the actions should be transferred to one federal district and select the judge for such proceedings.
Since its establishment in 1968 by Congress, the MDL Panel, has moved forward more than 30,000 cases, involving millions of claims for litigation including airplane crashes, such as train wrecks or hotel fires; mass torts, such as those involving asbestos, drugs and other products liability cases, according to its website.
DePuy recalled its ASR XL hip implant in August, based on early failure rates. An estimated 12,000 people will have to undergo hip replacement surgery to replace the faulty DePuy ASR hip device. All 90,000 patients with the ASR implant face issues of metal toxicity from the device wearing down and debris entering the blood stream.
There have been numerous claims already filed against DePuy, which is a division of global American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. If you or a loved one has been injured by a DePuy hip implant, it’s not too late to file a claim. Talk to a South Carolina personal injury attorney .