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Six plaintiffs’ lawyers will lead federal litigation against Johnson & Johnson over recalled devices used in hip-replacement surgeries.
U.S. District Judge David A. Katz in Toledo, Ohio, appointed the plaintiffs’ executive committee on Jan. 26 after dozens of lawyers vied for the positions. The group will make major decisions on the litigation, which has been consolidated before Katz for pretrial proceedings.
Lawyers for patients said they expect thousands of lawsuits over the ASR XL Acetabular System, which J&J’s DePuy Orthopaedics unit recalled on Aug. 26.
New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J, the world’s largest health-care products company, and Warsaw, Indiana-based DePuy said they recalled the devices because researchers found some patients needed a second operation, or “revision surgery,” after five years at rates higher than the company expected.
“There is no doubt there will be thousands of cases,” said the committee’s co-lead counsel, attorney Ellen Relkin of Weitz & Luxenberg in New York. “The damages will be in the billions of dollars.”
The group includes Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP in New York.
Notwithstanding claims relating to this product, the drug/medical device remains approved by the U.S. FDA.