Parties to the DePuy ASR hip implant litigation have reached a settlement that will benefit patients who recently underwent hip revision surgery.

The current settlement applies to patients who were implanted with a DePuy ASR hip implant system and who since March 2015 underwent revision surgery to resolve problems with that implant.

Complications associated with the DePuy ASR hip implant have been a huge headache for DePuy and its parent company Johnson & Johnson. This hip implant has been the subject of recalls and litigation that has led to billions of dollars in settlement payouts.

Many of the reported complications are blamed on the ASR’s metal-on-metal design. The ASR puts metal bearing surfaces together in a way that critics say causes particles of metal to flake off into the tissue surrounding the implant.

This loose metal can lead to metal poisoning, causing a toxic reaction known as metallosis. Metallosis can cause the death of nearby muscle and bone tissue. It can also lead to the growth of non-cancerous formations known as pseudotumors, which can lead to pain, swelling, and considerable discomfort.

Other problems associated with the ASR include dislocations, bone fractures, inadequate range of motion, pain with use of the joint, and loosening of the points at which the implant attaches to the body.

When complications like these become intolerable, the patient may have to undergo revision surgery to remove and replace the implant. Revision surgery tends to be more involved than the original implantation surgery. It exposes the patient to a renewed risk of surgical complications like infection, and it tends to require a longer recovery time.

Previous DePuy ASR Litigation

The current DePuy ASR hip settlement is just the most recent settlement agreement to arise out of the extensive DePuy ASR litigation.

Several thousand patients who suffered pain and injury after being implanted with an ASR hip implant took legal action against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson.

So many claims were filed – well over 8,000 at one point – that the federal court system combined them into a single multidistrict litigation, or MDL, to help make pretrial procedures run more efficiently.

Early victories by plaintiffs outside the MDL preceded a first round of settlements. One successful plaintiff in California state court was awarded $8.3 million in March 2013.

Later that November, DePuy agreed to the first mass settlement within the MDL. The company agreed to reserve around $4 billion to pay claims from plaintiffs who had undergone revision surgery during or before August 2013.

Other DePuy ASR patients continued to suffer complications, however, and claims kept rolling in. In March 2015, DePuy agreed to another settlement to cover claimants who underwent revision surgery between August 2013 and January 2015. The company agreed to pay a total of $420 million in that round of settlements.

Now, DePuy has agreed to a new settlement to compensate claimants whose revision surgery was more recent. Patients who suffered complications related to the DePuy ASR hip implant and who underwent revision surgery since March 2015 may qualify for a settlement payment.