Johnson and Johnson and individual plaintiffs were described as “close” to reaching a deal to settle claims regarding defective implants, Bloomberg reported this week. The lawsuits relate to J&J’s Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants, which have faced accusations of causing several side effects, including bone erosion and tissue death. J&J has been subject to lawsuits around the country, including roughly 10,000 individual claims in Texas, of which 3,300 were announced as “close” this week to reaching a settlement. The announcement comes after J&J settled for $120 million on deceptive marketing claims.
J&J has been under significant scrutiny in the past few years, being described as a “litigation magnet.” For example, in 2013, J&J settled claims for its ASR line of hip replacements for $2.5 billion—a settlement that does not cover Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip replacements. It recently saw all of its patents invalidated in a patent infringement suit regarding Zytiga, a lucrative chemotherapy drug; the company is planning to appeal the decision. Most dramatically, last summer J&J was ordered to pay $4.7 billion in a talcum powder case claiming that it hid asbestos in its talc products, a claim J&J vehemently denies. A Reuters report claiming J&J had been aware of the asbestos for decades caused J&J’s stock to fall more than 10% in a single day.
Pinnacle hip implants are still being sold with different material combinations.