January 30, 2013 — According to a Special Master’s Report filed January 16 in the federal DePuy Pinnacle hip implant litigation, lawyers have established criteria for selecting the first “bellwether” trials from more than 3,200 pending lawsuits. The judge presiding over the litigation has scheduled the first trials for September 2014. The litigation is currently centralized in a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas).
The Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs must create a list of available cases by April 1, excluding cases that cannot be tried in the Northern District of texas. Lawyers for Plaintiffs and Defendants will then have until June 1 to select a list of 4 potential candidates for the bellwether trial. Both sides will be allowed a period of time to gather more records (including medical, X-ray, disability, employment, etc) and conduct depositions of plaintiffs’ doctors and one sales representative.
The parties will then have the opportunity to confer an submit one agreed-upon list of four potential bellwether trial cases by September 2. If the plaintiffs and defendants cannot agree on four candidates, they will submit separate lists of four candidates to be decided upon by the Court. The Court will then select the cases and the order in which they will be tried before a jury.
DePuy is currently engaged in trials involving another type of metal-on-metal hip implant — the ASR. The ASR design was based upon the Pinnacle, but while the ASR was recalled in 2010, the Pinnacle has not been recalled and DePuy maintains that the hip implant is safe.
Metal-on-metal hip implants have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. Many researchers and the FDA have warned that metal hip implants have additional risks on top of the risks with all hip implants. These risks include toxic metal poisoning (metallosis), which can occur when the metal “ball-and-socket” hip grinds together and sheds particles of chromium and cobalt in a patient’s body.
Do I have a DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting DePuy Pinnacle induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by defective hip implant side effects, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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