DePuy Multidistrict Litigation Makes Parties File Complaints

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 10:41:14 +0000

The general public now knows that DePuy Orthopaedics has consolidated all DePuy hip replacement lawsuits into multidistrict litigation (MDL) under federal District Court Judge David Katz of the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (MDL Docket No. 1:10-md-02197)). The MDL process expedites litigation for multiple plaintiffs having similar claims against one defendant through the consolidation of pretrial procedures, such as discovery, into one action. Despite a one month delay of the initial status conference, MDL has progressed efficiently. On April 5^th, 2011, Judge Katz ordered each plaintiff affected by the hip replacement recall to file a short-form complaint while DePuy is required to file a single master abbreviated or short-form response.

In accordance with the judicial order, Amended Case Management Order No. 4, plaintiffs can claim damages under 23 specific causes of action. Significant causes of action include:

Simple negligence
Strict products liability
Breach of warranty
Fraudulent misrepresentation
Malice
Violation of state consumer protection statutes

Plaintiffs are also allowed to write in other causes of action and claim these following damages:

Injury to self
Wrongful death
Economic losses
Loss of services
Loss of consortium

DePuy is allowed 32 separate defenses for the master answer. Some of these defenses are retained from pleadings DePuy made in the first hip replacement lawsuits, which address limitations of damages, particularly punitive damages. The following are a few relevant defenses that DePuy may once again assert, including:

Plaintiff assumed all risks associated with the use of his or her DePuy ASR device
Plaintiff was negligent, careless, and at fault and conducted himself or herself so as to contribute to alleged injuries
Plaintiff’s alleged damages are barred because of the plaintiff’s failure to mitigate them

These terms may sound reasonable to the average person, but they do have very specific legal definitions. Hip replacement lawyers must be able to prove all their client’s claims since DePuy will vigorously defend against them.Since there is such a wide range of available causes of action that recipients may assert against DePuy and the large amount of compensation at stake in all the types of damages, it is imperative that recipients find an experienced hip replacement lawyer that handles these types of cases. To speak to a lawyer at no extra charge, please visit the DePuy hip replacement lawsuit website for details.

DePuy Multidistrict Litigation Makes Parties File Complaints is a post from: WiredWriter

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DePuy Multidistrict Litigation Makes Parties File Complaints