In this post, we will look at the decisions a person must make when faced with a master settlement offer like the recent one in the Depuy ASR hip litigation. Of course, the deadlines have passed in the two settlement agreements involving the Depuy ASR hip systems, but the analysis below remains important, and of course there are still people out there who have suffered failed artificial hips.
Part 1
First things first: your medical decisions
All right, today we drill down a bit on a rather tedious subject: civil procedure. I need to explain how your artificial hip case may start in your local state court or nearby federal court but then wind up in a federal court hundreds of miles away. It may seem random and chaotic, but with the rise in the number of failed medical devices like artificial hips, multidistrict litigation is an efficient and useful way to process thousands of lawsuits against a medical device manufacturer.
What is Multidistrict Litigation?
When a large number of products liability cases are filed in courts all over the country, all of which involve the failure of a single product, and which has caused similar injury to many individuals, a single court may be chosen to consolidate the cases into one “multidistrict litigation” (“MDL”). From this one court the designated federal judge will manage the discovery, hear motions, resolve pre-trial issues, possibly preside over bellwether trials, and even monitor global settlement discussion.
In this third and final part, my Client describes the agony she endured following the first revision surgery and how, in desperation, she made the decision to undergo a second revision surgery, her third hip surgery in six years.
Part 3
First Revision Surgery “Extremely Difficult”
A former client describes the difficulties she endured following the implantation of the Depuy ASR Hip and her two. The following is the second of a three-part series:
Part 2
An Active Mother of Four
Today I turn over the Medical Device Law News blog to a former client of mine who has written a moving narrative about the difficulties she endured following the implantation of the Depuy ASR Hip and her two revision surgeries. The following is the first of a three-part series:
Part 1
My ordeal began in March 2008. I had my first hip replacement surgery. In April 2011, I had a second revision due to a faulty hip implant. By March 2014, I had my third hip surgery, my second revision.
Let’s face it, most attorneys (in fact, most everyone in any profession) sound impressive on their websites. In much the same way as people craft positive, happy versions of themselves on Facebook and Instagram, attorneys usually present a shiny version of themselves on their law firm websites. Often these websites list notable accomplishments. I don’t mean to suggest that these accomplishments are unimpressive or even fabricated. What I am saying is that you must go beyond the scrubbed surface of many websites and investigate further when choosing the right attorney to represent you with your case.
1. Determine what kind of lawyer you need. Just as you wouldn’t consult a cardiologist for a broken leg, you also shouldn’t hire a worker’s compensation lawyer to handle the failure of your artificial hip components. Look for an attorney who actively represents plaintiffs in personal injury cases, and specifically defective hip and other medical device cases. Try to avoid the generalists who appear to handle every possible case under the sun, from drafting your will to litigating your car accident case.
2. Look for an attorney with demonstrated knowledge in your specific case area. Take a good look at the information provided on the attorney’s website. Does the attorney have knowledge about your medical device failures and the related litigation? Has he or she litigated cases involving defective hips or knees or other defective medical devices? Does the attorney provide recent, timely, up-to-date information on the medical device that has caused problems for you? Was the information helpful to you?
The following jury verdicts have been handed down in trials over failed artificial hips in 2015:
Smith v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., et al., (Oklahoma District Court, Tulsa County).
Jury Award: $2,500,000.00 for Plaintiff Andrea Smith.
Those who have suffered from a failed artificial hip, have undergone a revision surgery (or even more than one), and now contemplate taking legal action against the manufacturer, often ask what kinds of money judgments plaintiffs have received from juries across the country. I have collected a representative sample of jury verdicts over the last few years against artificial hip manufacturers like Depuy and Zimmer. The good news for injured people is that some plaintiffs have received several million dollars from juries for their injuries. The bad news? Juries found no negligence at all by the manufacturer; in those cases, the injured person received no money at all.
I’ve collected a list of recent cases and their jury verdicts involved. This is not an exhaustive list, and other jury verdicts are out there, but this will give you a sense of what is going on with artificial hip cases jury trials:
Kransky v. DePuy Orthopaedics (Los Angeles Superior Court)
In a recent post I set out the first four things you should do if you suspect that your artificial hip has failed you. Those were:
1. Start a symptoms/pain journal.
2. Gather evidence.
Before I get to the four things you should do if you suspect that an artificial hip or other medical device has failed you, I must start by saying that this is one of the worst outcomes a person can endure in health care. Most people approach hip replacement surgery with great caution, as surgery is a painful and difficult and traumatic experience. Further, you have arrived at the decision to undergo surgery on the basis of a challenging and serious medical issue which requires surgery to “fix” the problem. After deciding to move forward with surgery, virtually no one expects that a medical device such as an artificial hip or knee will somehow “fail” inside your body. This result is often worse than the suffering which occurred through the underlying medical condition prompting the original implant surgery. So, at the outset, let me say that I am sorry you find yourself in this very unfortunate position. That said, you need to take action when it becomes apparent that a medical device like an artificial hip has failed:
1. Start a symptoms/pain journal.
This is an important step you can take in protecting your rights in the face of a medical product failure. It is simple enough: when you first begin to notice sensations or pains which seem abnormal or unexpected, jot down the physical symptoms on a piece of paper or a notes app on your smart phone. The more detail the better—if the pain occurs when you sleep, note the time when the pain arrives, whether it woke you from sleep, and any other details. If you feel pain during certain activities, such as lowering yourself into your car or walking on hard surfaces, note those conditions as well. This journal may well provide critically important information for your doctors but also for your attorney as he or she prepares a settlement package or a lawsuit (or both). A person who has been injured by a medical device product failure can recover money “damages” in a category known as pain and suffering. A pain/symptoms/well-being journal can provide extremely valuable information to an attorney putting together the best case for you in the event you have a solid claim against a manufacturer for a failed medical device.
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