Jury Awards $8.3 Million in Lawsuit Vs. J&J

A court jury in Los Angeles on Friday awarded $8.3 million in damages to man who said he was injured by Johnson & Johnson's ( JNJ ) all-metal hip implants, which the jury found were designed defectively.

The verdict ended the first case to go to trial of about 10,750 product-liability lawsuits against J&J's DePuy unit, which manufactured the ASR XL hip-replacement devices.

After a five-week trial, the jury in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County also rejected the plaintiff's claim that DePuy failed to adequately warn of the risks associated with ASR XL, J&J said Friday. The jury declined to award punitive damages.

J&J's DePuy unit believes the ASR XL "was properly designed, and that DePuy's actions concerning the product were appropriate and responsible," said Lorie Gawreluk, a spokeswoman for DePuy.

DePuy plans to appeal the decision on design defect, pending the outcome of post-trial motions. DePuy said one basis for appeal is that the court didn't let the company tell the jury about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's review and clearance of the device.

In 2010, J&J recalled hip replacements implanted in about 93,000 people because an excessive number needed a second hip-replacement procedure.

The recall sparked lawsuits, with some patients alleging that potentially toxic metal particles wore away from their all-metal hip parts, entering patients' bloodstreams.

J&J has since taken hundreds of millions of dollars in charges to cover medical and litigation costs related to the recalled products.

J&J recently disclosed that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether DePuy's marketing practices for the ASR products caused false claims or statements to be submitted to government health programs.

J&J shares rose 40 cents to $78.15 in recent trading.

Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@dowjones.com

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