Johnson & Johnson to Pay $120M to Settle With 46 States Over Hip Implants
The agreement comes after Johnson & Johnson began settling thousands of cases brought over its Pinnacle devices last year after losing jury verdicts totaling more than $1.75 billion.
January 22, 2019 at 03:09 PM
3 minute read
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $120 million to attorneys general in 46 states and Washington, D.C., to resolve marketing claims brought over its hip implants.
The settlement, announced on Tuesday, is the largest agreement that New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson has made with attorneys general over its ASR XL and Pinnacle Ultamet hip implants, made by its Medical Device Business Inc. division, formerly known as DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. In 2014, Johnson & Johnson paid $4 million to settle a case brought by the Oregon Department of Justice over its ASR hip implants.
“Doctors and their patients need to have accurate and up-to-date information to ensure that patients are receiving appropriate health care,” said Letitia James, attorney general of New York, which will receive nearly $4.7 million under the deal. “Companies should never be allowed to freely mislead the public, especially when there are health concerns involved. This settlement serves as an important message that deceptive and false medical practices will never be tolerated.”
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said his state would receive $8 million under the agreement.
“Johnson & Johnson is alleged to have deceived vulnerable patients in need of hip replacement and undermined their ability to recuperate quickly and safely,” he said. “There's no excuse for Johnson & Johnson to have violated its customers' trust, as well as California consumer protection laws, but we worked to hold them accountable.”
Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley said the $120 million will be distributed among the states. “The settlement involves no admission of liability or misconduct on the part of the companies,” she wrote in an emailed statement. “DePuy Synthes remains committed to meeting the current and future needs of orthopedic surgeons and patients.”
Johnson & Johnson paid $2.5 billion in 2013 to settle civil lawsuits filed over its ASR hip implants, which it recalled, and is settling thousands of cases brought over its Pinnacle devices after losing jury verdicts totaling more than $1.75 billion.
Attorneys general alleged that Johnson & Johnson made misleading advertising claims about the “longevity” of its hip implants, which the National Joint Registry of England and Wales reported had higher failure rates. In some cases, patients had to have the devices surgically removed after suffering pain and finding metal in their blood.
Under the consent judgment, Johnson & Johnson agreed to base its claims on the latest scientific data and revise its complaint procedures.
The states of Texas and South Carolina led the investigation. In addition to those states, and New York and California, the agreement includes attorneys general from 42 other states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The agreement comes on the same day that Johnson & Johnson announced its fourth quarter revenues of $20.4 billion and a sales forecast for 2019 that failed to meet expectations. During last quarter, litigation expenses doubled to $1.29 billion for Johnson & Johnson, which faces additional lawsuits over its baby powder and several pharmaceutical drugs.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllDivided State Court Reinstates Dispute Over Replacement Vehicles Fees
5 minute readAm Law 200 Firm to Defend PUMA in Latest Quarrel Over Patented Shoe Technology
Apple Asks Judge to 'Follow the Majority Practice' in Dismissing Patent Dispute Over Night Vision Technology
Who Got the Work: 16 Lawyers Appointed to BioLab Class Action Litigation
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1How Amy Harris Leverages Diversity to Give UMB Financial a Competitive Edge
- 2Pa. Judicial Nominee Advances While Trump Demands GOP Unity Against Biden Picks
- 3The Unraveling of Sean Combs: How Legislation from the #MeToo Movement Brought Diddy Down
- 4Publication of Information Regarding Client Matters
- 5The State of Cost Recovery — Post COVID
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250