In the second bellwether trial, Johnson & Johnson’s unit DePuy Orthopaedics was hit with a $498 million verdict in a lawsuit alleging its Pinnacle metal hip replacement implants caused severe injury in patients.

The verdict in the case was in favor of five patients who filed the lawsuit, all of whom suffered from metallosis, or metal poisoning, following the implantation of a metal on metal hip replacement.

According to attorneys, the verdict was the result of the unusually vast amount of evidence that patients were allowed to present in federal court despite Johnson & Johnson’s filing of about a dozen mistrial motions against what the company claimed was “highly prejudicial and inadmissible” pieces of evidence.

This evidence was not related to claims about the DePuy Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System metal hip replacement devices, according to attorneys, that were the focus of the trial.

Attorneys also said that this type of wide-ranging amount of evidence is usually not allowed to be presented against a corporate defendant, especially when the evidence is related to a different medical device.

A sampling off the evidence that was not normally permitted included patients referencing other litigation against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy. One example of this is the 2007 deferred prosecution agreement for $84.7 million over DePuy’s marketing practices of knee and hip implants and Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit, which is facing ongoing litigation over vaginal mesh.

The litigation against DePuy was consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in May 2011. Currently, more than 8,000 cases are part of the MDL and the devices under scrutiny are metal on metal hip replacement devices containing sockets with metal, ceramic or polyurethane lining.

In this consolidated case, five plaintiffs who all had hip replacement surgery at differing times, from 2004 to 2010, were included.

J&J said the grouping was unfair since the company knew different information and the science available at the time was different for the devices depending on the time period in which they were implanted.

Johnson & Johnson plans to appeal the verdict.

The De Puy Metal on Metal Hip Replacement  MDL is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, Case No.3:11-md-02244, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Metal on Metal Hip Replacement

Patients in the lawsuits against manufacturers of metal on metal hip replacement devices allege that the designs were defective and caused patients unnecessary injury.

Metallosis is one such injury, such as for the plaintiffs in this case, but other complications have also been named such as: early device failure, requiring additional hip replacement surgeries, hip dislocation, loss of bone strength and fracture in surrounding bones and necrosis (tissue death) surrounding the implant.

Patients who have suffered hip replacement surgery complications from metal on metal hip implants may choose to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer to assist in recovering financial losses from medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering and other losses, including spousal companionship.

If you or a loved one has experienced such complications, an experienced attorney can review your case for free and can help you understand the legal options that are available to you.