Depuy Orthopaedics, Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation.

Cohen Placitella & Roth is at the vanguard of law firms currently prosecuting Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. for injuring thousands of patients who underwent hip replacement surgery in which DePuy ASR XL hip prosthetic devices were used. In August 2010, the ASR XL devices were recalled by DePuy due to high failure and revision (repeat) surgery rates.

The large number of injury cases filed against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy in the federal court system around the country led to the creation of a multi-district litigation for DePuy ASR device cases (MDL No. 2197) in which all ASR device federal court cases were and are now being transferred to the United States District Court Northern District of Ohio. Judge David A. Katz of that Court is presiding over the MDL cases.

The MDL Court has designated Cohen, Placitella & Roth as the New Jersey Plaintiffs' Liaison. Members of Cohen, Placitella & Roth additionally serve on the MDL's Discovery Committee.

On April 12, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court announced how the numerous and growing number of DePuy ASR hip replacement device cases filed in New Jersey State Court would be administered—through assignment to a single judge in one county for centralized management.

Although it was not designating DePuy ASR litigation as a "mass tort matter," which would have concentrated all trials in the county vicinage assigned the litigation, it decided due to the number and complexity of the litigation to assign all pending and future New Jersey state-court litigation involving the hip implants to Bergen County for centralized management before the Honorable Brian R. Martinotti. Judge Martinotti has been assigned to handle a number of mass tort cases, including the Digitek, YAZ and NuvaRing mass tort matters.

Cohen Placitella & Roth is accepting referrals or counsel arrangements for injured parties who desire to file in New Jersey or in the MDL. For more information, contact the attorneys at lawyers@cprlaw.com or call 1.888.375.7600.