New York will receive $4.6 million and Connecticut will receive $1.8 million from a $120 million multistate settlement that will resolve allegations brought against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Inc. that accused the companies of engaging in unfair and deceptive marketing of their metal-on-metal hip implant devices.
The allegations, brought by the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia, charged Johnson & Johnson and DePuy with violating state consumer protection laws in their promotion of the ASR XL and Pinnacle Ultamet metal-on-metal hip replacement devices, with false claims about the longevity and survivorship of the implants. An investigation by the attorneys general found DePuy”™s claim of a 99.2 percent survivorship of the ASR XL hip implant after three years bore no resemblance to a National Joint Registry of England and Wales report that the product had a 7 percent revision rate at three years. DePuy also promoted the Pinnacle Ultamet as having a survivorship of over 99 percent at five years, whereas the National Joint Registry of England and Wales noted 4.28 percent 5-year-revision rate. The ASR XL was taken off the market in 2010 and sales of the Pinnacle Ultamet were discontinued in 2013.
“Doctors and their patients need to have accurate and up to date information to ensure that patients are receiving appropriate healthcare,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. “Companies should never be allowed to freely mislead the public, especially when there are health concerns involved. This settlement serves as an important message that deceptive and false medical practices will never be tolerated.”
“Patients put their trust in Johnson & Johnson and DePuy that the hip implants they were receiving were safe and reliable, and these manufacturers unconscionably and systematically violated that trust,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. “The $120 million settlement today will help ensure that doctors and patients have access to the full facts and information they need to make informed medical choices.”
