Case Management Orders Propel Depuy Asr Mdl Forward

Several case management orders issued by the Honorable David A

. Katz have moved forward the consolidated federal DePuy ASR lawsuits otherwise known as the MDL No. 2197 (In re DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Hip Implant Liability Litigation). After the high profile DePuy metal-on-metal hip replacement recall in August 2010, many lawsuits were filed against Johnson & Johnson (J&J), DePuys mother company. Many of those lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) under Judge Katz in December of the same year. The U.S. House of Representatives committee members have asked for an investigationof metal-on-metal hip replacements, a move which coincided with the latest development of the DePuy ASR MDL.

The case management orders issued by Judge Katz will require the plaintiffs' counsel to submit a Plaintiff Fact Sheet and Medical Records Authorization on behalf of their clients who have undergone revision surgery or are scheduled to undergo revision surgery. As a discovery tool, the defendant will use the Plaintiff Fact Sheet in obtaining basic information about the plaintiff as well as specific information about the nature of the plaintiff's injuries. According to the orders, the Plaintiff Fact Sheets and accompanying Medical Records Authorizations for cases currently pending before the court involving plaintiffs who have undergone revision surgery, must be submitted by Dec. 26, 2011.

Lawyers for cases filed after Sept. 26, 2011 involving plaintiffs who have already undergone revision surgery, have 90 days from the date of filing to submit their clients Plaintiff Fact Sheets and Medical Records Authorizations. For plaintiffs who underwent revision surgery after their cases have been filed, their counsels have 120 days from the date of the surgery to submit the required forms. The orders also require plaintiffs to produce documents that support their claims against the defendants.

We are pleased that discovery in the MDL is moving forward and have already started gathering the requested information. As more and more of our clients are scheduled to have their ASR hip replacements revised, we anticipate having to submit these Plaintiff Fact Sheets for the majority of our clients, said Felecia L. Stern, Bernstein Liebhard LLP partner, who represents clients in the DePuy hip replacement lawsuits. Also on Oct. 20, two depositions of company representatives have been noticed to take place as per request of the plaintiffs.

DePuy ASR Hip Recall Law Firm Alliance earlier alleged that it is the DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.s strategy to funnel ASR hip recall cases through an MDL because its proceedings are complicated and typically take much longer than litigation in state court. DePuys dogged efforts to keep these cases in the MDL show that it feel they have a better legal standing in the MDL venue than in state court, says Brian Franciskato of the Alliance. With the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still receiving complaints on metal-on-metal hip replacements, more lawsuits are still expected to be filed in connection with the DePuy hip replacement recall despite the MDLs recent development.

by: Katherine Russel

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