New York City, N.Y. (PRWEB) December 05, 2011
With some 4,000 lawsuits filed to date in various state and federal courts against a single maker of artificial hips, interest among lawyers to learn the finer points of such litigation is increasing, according to plaintiff?s attorney Ellen Relkin, Esq., of the New York mass tort and personal injury litigation firm Weitz & Luxenberg PC.
The firm announced that Relkin will be on hand Dec. 8 to educate law colleagues about metal-on-metal hip-implant litigation when the American Association for Justice (AAJ) convenes a half-day seminar on that topic at the Hilton New York Hotel in Manhattan.
Relkin joins a number of other leading litigators from major law firms across the nation who, with her, will serve as seminar faculty, Weitz & Luxenberg indicated.
A past-chair of the AAJ?s section on Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts and current co-chair of its Hydroxycut Litigation Group, Relkin in her day-to-day practice focuses on pharmaceutical, medical-device product liability and toxic-tort litigation, Weitz & Luxenberg said.
The AAJ?s educational event is billed as the “DePuy Hip Implant Seminar,” so named because DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. of Warsaw, Ind., is the medical-device manufacturer at the center of the many court cases, according to the National Law Journal in an article published Oct. 31 and entitled “Hips Will be Huge Next Year” by Amanda Bronstad.
“[There have been] about 3,500 lawsuits filed against DePuy over its ASR hip implants, which the company recalled on Aug. 24, 2010,” the National Law Journal reported. “About 93,000 patients worldwide have had the devices implanted ? one reason why plaintiffs’ attorneys predict the litigation will be huge….This year, hip-implant litigation has been a top subject at conferences for the plaintiffs’ bar across the country.”
Relkin, featured in that National Law Journal article, explained why many attorneys are interested in litigating against DePuy. “?More than 2,200 cases involving the devices are pending in a federal multidistrict proceeding in Toledo, Ohio,?” she told the national legal periodical, which added that “[o]n Dec. 7, [2010,] the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized the litigation over the ASR hip implant before U.S. District Judge David Katz in Toledo [case number MDL 2197 U.S. District Court, Toledo, Ohio]. The plaintiffs’ executive committee is a six-member team co-chaired by Relkin….Thirteen lawyers sit on the plaintiffs’ steering committee, four on a science committee, six on a discovery committee and two on a law-and-motions committee.”
[One month after the article was published, the tally of Multidistrict Litigation filings had risen to nearly 3,000, Relkin said.]
“In the federal ASR litigation, more than 100 lawyers vied for four hours during a recent hearing for appointment to various plaintiffs’ leadership committees,” the National Law Journal wrote in summarizing further remarks by Relkin, who was named co-lead counsel of that federal litigation. About 500 law firms are involved in the litigation, the journal reported her as saying [that number has now reached 600 and includes firms from 46 states plus Puerto Rico].
“?Typically, there are several dozen firms that really specialize in pharmaceutical and medical-device litigation….But because this was recalled and there were people all over the country having problems, many different lawyers have taken on the case,?” she was quoted as telling the publication.
Weitz & Luxenberg announced that it already has in suit 115 cases on behalf of patients whose DePuy ASR hip implants failed and that it expects to file several hundred more such cases in due course.
Weitz & Luxenberg said that it also currently represents numerous victims of the failed Zimmer Durom acetabular cup, another metal-on-metal mono-block hip implant. That litigation is centered in federal court in New Jersey, where the Multidistrict Litigation is now pending. Relkin, certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, is preparing Zimmer Durom Cup cases for trial in Newark, N.J.
At the upcoming DePuy Hip Implant Seminar, attendees will hear about plaintiff case-specific tactics, defense tactics, tips for jury selection, bellwether trial selection and the latest information concerning DePuy litigation, among other relevant matters, the AAJ disclosed. For more information about the seminar, visit http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/justice/hs.xsl/14762.htm
About Weitz & Luxenberg:
Founded in 1986 by attorneys Perry Weitz and Arthur Luxenberg, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., today ranks among the nation?s leading law firms. Weitz & Luxenberg?s numerous litigation areas include: mesothelioma, defective medicine and devices, environmental pollutants, accidents, personal injury, and medical malpractice. Victims of accidents are invited to rely on Weitz & Luxenberg?s more than 20 years of handling such cases ? begin by contacting the firm?s Client Relations department at 1-800-476-6070 or at clientrelations(at)weitzlux(dot)com and ask for a free legal consultation. More information: http://www.weitzlux.com
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