subject: Johnson & Johnson Continues To Increase Set-aside Monies For Asr & Pinnacle Lawsuits [print this page] Recent financial actions by the giant manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson have led many to wonder what the companys thinking is regarding the probable outcome of the nearly 8000 lawsuits pending over the DePuy ASR and Pinnacle all-metal hip implants. Johnson & Johnson set aside over $4 billion dollars at the beginning of 2012 and almost another $2 billion this September, 2012, at the end of their third 2012 quarter. The DePuy ASR was recalled in August of 2010, and while the Pinnacle has yet to be recalled it appears the device suffers many of the same health risks as the ASR.
When the ASRs metal ball and cup rub against one another during periods of activity on the part of the recipient, tiny metal ions of cobalt and chromium can shear away, entering into the bloodstream or the tissues surrounding the hip implant. The failure rateas admitted by DePuy upon the ASRs recallis over 12%. This is an excessively high failure rate for metal-on-metalor any other typeof hip implant yet independent studies place the ASR failure rate as high as 48% at six years.
As of a few months ago over 6,000 ASR lawsuits had been consolidated into a multi-district litigation before an Ohio judge, while some 1,800 Pinnacle lawsuits have been consolidated in an MDL before a Texas Judge. Johnson & Johnson has seen no real loss in revenues despite the pending litigation; at the end of their third quarter in September, 2012, the company had made $17.1 billion dollarsa 6.5% increase from this time last year. Cobalt and chromium in the body can cause a variety of adverse medical issues including:
Cardiovascular events
Neurological issues
Memory loss
Kidney damage or failure
Thyroid problems
Vision and hearing loss
Gastrointestinal issues
DNA disruption and alteration
Depression, anxiety and irritability
Bone loss, inflammation, necrosis
Chronic and severe pain
Total failure of the implant
A few months ago, three ASR cases pending in Las Vegas, NV were settled by Johnson & Johnson and DePuy for a reported $600,000. There are some 8,000 lawsuits still to be heard, with the Ohio ASR MDLs scheduled to begin in May of 2013 and the Texas Pinnacle MDL suits scheduled to begin in September, 2014. Considering the first three cases settled for approximately $200,000 each, one wonders why Johnson & Johnson increased its set aside monies to over $6 billion dollars and whether there will be additional monies set aside on January 1, 2013.
The implications of Johnson & Johnson setting aside such huge amounts of money for the ASR and Pinnacle litigation may be one of two things: Either Johnson & Johnson expects to settle with the 8,000 plaintiffs for considerably more than the Nevada plaintiffs received, or they are planning a long battle to the finish to defend DePuys ASR and Pinnacle all-metal hip implants. Either way, recipients of the ASR or Pinnacle may have significantly decreased quality of life due to these defective medical devices, and time is growing short to join in the lawsuits against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson.
