J&J Accused at Trial of Ignoring Pinnacle Hip Failures
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To protect billions of dollars in sales, Johnson & Johnson ignored reports that the metal-on-metal version of its Pinnacle hip implants failed at alarming rates, a lawyer told jurors at the end of the first case to go to trial over the devices.
J&J’s DePuy unit turned a blind eye to reports the hips had design flaws that prompted them to break down and then misled doctors about the implants’ failure rates to protect sales, Mark Lanier, an attorney for a Montana woman who sued after complications forced her to have the device removed, said in closing arguments yesterday in Dallas federal court.