According to Bloomberg, attorneys for Kransky argued that Johnson & Johnson defectively designed the ASR hip implant and failed to warn about its risks. Among other things, the attorneys said that J&J failed to test the metal-on-metal hip implant before selling it in 2005; they also stated that J&J ignored mounting safety concerns from surgeons who implanted the device. Plaintiff’s lawyers have asked for $5.3 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages as high as $179 million.
The trial began on January 25th in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. Throughout the trial,J&J has consistently claimed that his injuries do not stem from the defects of the implant. Kransky’s attorneys recently produced a document showing that the ASR recall was issued due to defects that could cause health or safety problems; the document was signed by former DePuy president David Floyd. They have also pointed out that Kransky’s cobalt levels are 7 to 8 times higher than the 7 parts per billion recommended by the Medicines Healthcare products and Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
In the closing arguments, Kransky’s attorneys stated that Johnson & Johnson knew the ASR was defective long before it was implanted. Brian Panish, one of the lawyers for Kransky, said “They wanted to play Russian roulette with patients. This defendant didn't care about patient safety." according to LA Times.Jurors were told that J&J’s DePuy unit has acted as a “ruthless competitor” that cared more about profits than patient safety. "All they care about is the money," Panish stated. "They aren't looking at patients. They're looking at balance sheets."
J&J’s DePuy unit recalled 93,000 ASR hip worldwide in 2010, stating that the device had failed in 12 percent of patients within five years. In Australia, failure rates have exceeded 40 percent. Kransky’s lawsuit and thousands of others allege that the metal-on-metal design generates a toxic amount of metal ions, which leads to metal poisoning and other complications that lead to revision surgery.
Kransky, a retired corrections office from Montana received the ASR in 2007 and had it revised in February 2012. His attorneys have cited excessively high levels of metal ions, and alleged that his injuries, revision surgery and other complications stem from the defective nature of the all-metal hip replacement. J&J claims that his injuries are unrelated to his implant and have attributed his damages to other factors, including his pre-existing health problems. The company has also blamed the high revision rates of the ASR on surgical techniques, insisting that surgeons implant the cup socket at the wrong angle. Kransky’s attorneys have said that the cup is unsafe at any angle.
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