J&J Ordered to Pay $247 Million Over Defective Hips
- Texas jury concluded that DePuy unit knew devices were flawed
- Verdict is company’s third trial loss over artificial hips
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Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $247 million to half a dozen patients who claimed the company hid defects in its Pinnacle artificial hips, its third big-dollar loss over the products.
Officials of the company’s DePuy unit, which makes the hips, knew the devices were defective but failed to properly warn doctors and patients about the risk they would prematurely fail, a Dallas jury ruled Thursday. The panel awarded a total of $79 million in actual damages and $168 million in punitive damages to a group of six New York residents whose hips had to be surgically removed.