Massive Hip Implant Verdict Proves Product Liability Suits Are Alive and Well

Six hip implant patients were awarded over one billion (with a “B”) dollars by a Dallas jury last week.  The jurors found that Pinnacle hip implants, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Depuy Orthopaedics were defectively designed, and that the company failed to effectively warn the patients of the risks of the devices.

Pinnacle hip implants are no longer sold due to heightened FDA regulations.

Approximately 32 million dollars of the verdict consisted of damages for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.   The remainder of the verdict was for punitive damages.   The punitive damages will likely be reduced by the trial court, as Texas law limits such damages to a fixed multiple of the actual damage award.

Johnson & Johnson, which will likely appeal, faces over 8,000 additional such cases nationwide.

Houston trial attorney Mark Lanier states that the defendants rejected a settlement demand of 1.8 million dollars prior to trial.

The Law Office of Phil Griffis

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THE LAW OFFICE OF PHIL GRIFFIS

Phil Griffis obtained his first jury verdict in 1990, when he convinced a jury that a customer’s fall at his client’s store did not cause the customer’s aspiration pneumonia and stroke. In the years since he has continued to win in courtrooms across the State of Texas.