J&J settles more defective hip device lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson has reached an agreement to settle some 1,400 claims over defective hip replacement devices, a spokeswoman for the health care giant said Monday.
The agreement extends the benefits of a 2013 settlement with plaintiffs involving about 8,000 cases over ASR Hip System devices that cost the company $2.5 billion.
The new settlement agreement extends benefits to patients who replaced their hips from August 2013 through January 2015, said Mindy Tinsley, a spokeswoman for DePuy Synthes, the J&J unit that made the devices that it pulled from the market in 2010.
"By effectively extending the benefits of the previously announced US Settlement Program to an additional group of ASR patients, we are again providing fair compensation to US ASR patients without the delay and uncertainty of protracted litigation," Tinsley said.
The latest settlement is expected to amount to $420 million.
Depuy announced a recall of the all-metal prosthetic in August 2010 following complaints the devices were causing pain and injury. The implants were found to emit metallic debris that can be harmful to patients.