Articles Posted in Product Liability

I  have a Depuy hip implant that is part of the recall.  I understand that the cases are part of an "MDL" and that those cases are being litigated?  What does MDL mean?  What is going on in the Depuy hip cases?

An MDL is set up when a significant number of cases are filed in federal court and the judicial system determines that judicial economy would be best-served if the cases are consolidated before one judge for pre-trial purposes.  In the cases involving the Depuy hip implants, the federal courts decided that consolidation of the cases was appropriate and that the cases should be sent to one judge in Ohio.

MDL cases are usually handled differently from a typical case. The judge who oversees the combined cases creates new rules and systems to more efficiently handle the number of related lawsuits. One way that judges streamline the process is to create unique rules for the parties to exchange information and documents.

I had a hip replacement a couple years ago.  I have had nothing but grief since.  I have heard that the DePuy ASR hip has been recalled.  How do I find out if the hip I had replaced was made by DePuy and is one of the recalled hips?

Your doctor will have records of the hip replacement product that was used and, if he or she does not, the hospital will have records that will show what product was used.  You need to learn both who the manufacturer was and what model was used.  Each device that is implanted also comes with a serial number and you should get that number as well.

As I said, you can get this information yourself or ask the assistance of a lawyer who is handling hip replacement cases.  Remember that certain deadlines apply to take legal action and therefore you are encouraged to act as soon as possible.  Failure to take appropriate action on time will result in a loss of your rights. 

I have a DePuy hip implant that has been recalled.  What is going on with the litigation?

Our firm is actively involved in these cases.  We have filed seven cases and are evaluating several more.   Our cases were originally filed in federal court in Nashville.  The federal courts have determined that justice is best-served if all cases in the nation that are filed in federal court are temporarily managed in one federal court.  Therefore, all of the cases have been transferred to a federal judge in Ohio for pretrial proceedings.

The federal judge is in the process of appointing which lawyers will actively manage all of the cases for the patients.  As soon as that decision is made (and that could happen any day now) the litigation will be actively moving forward.

My hip replacement, a DePuy ASR, has been recalled?   I had my surgery in Nashville 3 years ago  and it has given me a lot of trouble.  What is my deadline for taking legal action?

You have what is known as a product liability claim, and under Tennessee law you have one year from the date you discover or reasonably should discover that you have a problem related to a defective hip.  Exactly when your rights expire depends on when you knew or should have known of the condition, but certainly it is no later than one year after you received the recall letter.

Failure to take appropriate legal action within the period required by law will result in a loss of your rights.

I have a DePuy hip implant that has been recalled.  What is my deadline for taking legal action?

Under Tennessee law you have one year from the date you knew or should have known that your hip problems were related to a problem with the implant itself.  For people who are currently symptom-free it is safe to assume that the one year started on the day you received the recall letter.  If you did not receive a letter you should assume that the one-year period for action started on the date you first heard about the recall on the news (or otherwise) and knew that it applied to the hip implant that you had inserted.

If you had hip problems before the recall the exact legal deadline will depend on what you knew about the nature of the problem and when you knew it.  An experienced product liability lawyer will help you ascertain the date but immediate action is suggested.