J&J and its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics were ordered to pay $247 million to a group of 6 plaintiffs by a Texas jury for the alleged injuries linked to their DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant. The case is the fourth bellwether to go to trial and is a part of the federal multidistrict litigation, MDL No. 2244, established for coordinated management before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in the Northern District of Texas. The jury's decision was based on the fact that the defendants knew about the defects, yet failed to warn the medical community and the patients and that they sold a defective product. More than 9,000 lawsuits are filed across the country. DePuy Pinnacle hip implants are linked to an increased risk of hip failure.
