http://www.depuyhipreplacementlawsuit.com/ The consolidated federal DePuy ASR lawsuits otherwise known as the MDL No. 2197 (In re DePuy Orthopedics, Inc. Hip Implant Liability Litigation) finally moves forward with the Honorable David A. Katz issuing several case management orders. After the high profile DePuy metal-on-metal hip replacement recall in August 2010, many lawsuits were filed against Johnson & Johnson (J&J), DePuy’s mother company. December of the same year, many of those lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) under Judge Katz. The U.S. House of Representatives committee members have asked for an investigation of metal-on-metal hip replacements, a move which coincided with the latest development of the DePuy ASR MDL.

1. As Published on the DePuy Hip Replacement Recall Website

2. The consolidated federal DePuy ASR lawsuits
otherwise known as the MDL No. 2197 (In re DePuy
Orthopedics, Inc. Hip Implant Liability Litigation)
finally moves forward with the Honorable David A.
Katz issuing several case management orders.
After the high profile DePuy metal-on-metal hip
replacement recall in August 2010, many lawsuits
were filed against Johnson & Johnson (J&J), DePuy’s
mother company. December of the same
year, many of those lawsuits were consolidated into
a multidistrict litigation (MDL) under Judge Katz.
The U.S. House of Representatives committee
members have asked for an investigation of metal-
on-metal hip replacements, a move which
coincided with the latest development of the DePuy
ASR MDL.

3. Basing on the case management orders issued by
Judge Katz, lawyers of the plaintiffs are required to
submit a Plaintiff Fact Sheet and Medical Records
Authorization on behalf of their clients who have
undergone revision surgery or are scheduled to
undergo revision surgery. As a discovery tool, the
defendant will use the Plaintiff Fact Sheet in
obtaining basic information about the plaintiff as
well as specific information about the nature of the
plaintiff's injuries. According to the orders, the
Plaintiff Fact Sheets and accompanying Medical
Records Authorizations for cases currently pending
before the court involving plaintiffs who have
undergone revision surgery, must be submitted by
Dec. 26, 2011.

4. Cases filed after Sept. 26, 2011
involving plaintiffs who have
already undergone revision
surgery have 90 days from the
date of filing to submit the
Plaintiff Fact Sheets and the
Medical Records Authorizations.
Lawyers for plaintiffs who
underwent revision surgery after
their cases have been filed have
120 days from the date of the
surgery to submit the required
forms. The plaintiffs have also
been required to produce
documents that support their
claims against the defendants.

5. “We are pleased that discovery in the MDL is moving
forward and have already started gathering the requested
information. As more and more of our clients are
scheduled to have their ASR hip replacements revised, we
anticipate having to submit these Plaintiff Fact Sheets for
the majority of our clients,” said Felecia L.
Stern, Bernstein Liebhard LLP partner, who represents
clients in the DePuy hip replacement lawsuits. Two
company representatives will have their depositions on
Oct. 20 as per request of plaintiffs.

6. The DePuy Orthopedics Inc. is allegedly funneling ASR
hip recall cases through an MDL because its
proceedings are complicated and typically take much
longer than litigation in state court, the DePuy ASR
Hip Recall Law Firm Alliance earlier said. The
Alliance’s Brian Franciskato said that “DePuy’s dogged
efforts to keep these cases in the MDL show that it
feel they have a better legal standing in the MDL
venue than in state court.” With the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) still receiving complaints on
metal-on-metal hip replacements, more lawsuits are
still expected to be filed in connection with the DePuy
hip replacement recall despite the MDL’s recent
development.