LAWYERS SET TO EARN $1 BILLION IN DEPUY ASR DEAL (Orthopedics This Week)
Lawyers representing over 8,000 plaintiffs in DePuy ASR hip lawsuits are recommending that their clients accept Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) $2.5 billion settlement offer.
For good reason. According to a November 25, 2013 New York Times article by Barry Meier, the lawyers stand to earn almost $1 billion.
Those lawyers have publicly praised the deal and described it as an “innovative plan” that will compensate patients who had to have hip revision surgery. After the lawyers’ fees, Meier reported that patients will get about $160,000 on average to compensate for their pain and suffering. There is also a $475 million pool for added payments to the most severely injured. In addition, J&J agreed to pay claims from private insurers and agencies like Medicare seeking to recover the costs of operations and other medical treatments related to the device.
According to Meier, the lawyers will receive about one-third of the settlement, or about $800 million. The single biggest chunk of those fees will go to the firms most involved with developing cases and negotiating the settlement; they will get a bonus of abou...
