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In 2010, Johnson & Johnson recalled nearly 100,000 ASR hip replacement implants for the damage and complications that they were causing to recipients. Since then, more than 8,000 lawsuits have been filed against the company in state and federal Courts across the United States. Now, Bloomberg Businessweek has reported that Johnson & Johnson has agreed to settle three DePuy cases out of Nevada for a total of $600,000. This is the first reported outcome in any of the DePuy litigation, providing plaintiffs a glimpse at what might be down the road.

The three cases that were involved had been filed in state court in Las Vegas, Nevada, and were scheduled to go to trial in December of this year. The plaintiffs in the three cases all had to undergo a revision surgery to remove the ASR hip device and replace it with an alternative product. The plaintiffs in each case received approximately $200,000 as part of the settlement, which, according to Bloomberg, is on the low end of what Johnson & Johnson should be expected to pay.

Of the 8,000 lawsuits that Johnson & Johnson faces, the 6,000 that were filed in federal courts have been consolidated into what is known as Multi-District Litigation (MDL) and are now before a judge in Toledo, Ohio. In addition to those lawsuits, the company also faces legal action in state courts totaling another 2,000 cases. That includes cases in states including California, Maryland, and Nevada. A state-court case out of Maryland is scheduled for trial in January and the first federal trials are expected to occur in March or April of next year. So far, Johnson & Johnson has spent $800 in relation to the recall it issued in 2010 and experts expect it could cost the company as much as $2 billion to resolve all of the litigation.

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