Health
J&J Unveils Hip Accord That May Exceed $4 Billion
[Bloomberg]
Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay at least $2.47 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits over its recalled hip implants, lawyers for the company and patients told a judge in outlining an accord that may be worth more than $4 billion.
The agreement would resolve about 8,000 U.S. suits against J&J’s DePuy unit brought by patients who have already had artificial hips removed, Susan Sharko, one of the company’s lawyers, told U.S. District Judge David Katz yesterday in Toledo, Ohio. The company will pay an average of about $250,000 for each surgery and cover related medical costs, Sharko said.
“The settlement provides compensation for eligible patients without the delay and uncertainty of protracted litigation,” Andrew Ekdahl, worldwide president of DePuy Synthes Joint Reconstruction said in a statement.
The settlement, which doesn’t require the judge’s approval, is the second multibillion-dollar accord this month for J&J, the world’s largest seller of health-care products. The company, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, agreed Nov. 4 to pay $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil probes into the marketing of Risperdal and other medicines.
