By Stephen Leshner of Stephen I. Leshner PC on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.
ASR U.S. Litigation Settlement Program Overview
This United States Settlement Program (“the U.S. Program”) was designed by DePuy
Orthopaedics, Inc. (“DePuy”) and a Court-appointed committee of plaintiffs’ lawyers to
compensate eligible ASR patients in the United States who had surgery to replace their
ASR™ XL Acetabular Hip System or ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System, known as
revision surgery, on or before August 31, 2013. Below is a brief description of the U.S.
Program. More detailed information is available at the Claim Processor’s website,
Eligibility
If you are an ASR patient, you must meet the following qualifications to participate in the
U.S. Program:
You must be a United States citizen or a legal resident of the United States;
You must have undergone surgery to implant an ASR™ XL Acetabular Hip
System or ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System (“ASR”) at a hospital in the United
States or at a U.S. Military Hospital;
You must have had the ASR in place for at least 180 days; and
You must have undergone surgery to remove the ASR for reasons related to the
recall on or before August 31, 2013.
If you are not eligible for the U.S. Program, your legal rights, if any, are not affected by
this U.S. Program.
Qualified Patient Award Amounts
The U.S. Program is structured in two parts, Part A and Part B.
Part A – Base Award: Qualified patients will receive one maximum Base Award of
$250,000 that is subject to potential reductions.
Factors that may result in reductions to a Base Award include:
How long your ASR was implanted;
Whether you smoked at the time of your revision surgery;
Whether you had a hip replacement surgery in the same hip before the ASR was
implanted;
Whether your Body Mass Index was greater than 35 when your ASR was
implanted;
Your age when your ASR was implanted; and
For cases involving deceased patients, whether the patient passed away shortly
after the ASR revision surgery for reasons unrelated to that surgery.
Part B – Supplemental Award: Qualified patients who can demonstrate that they have
extraordinary injuries related to their ASR may receive a supplemental award amount
that is subject to potential reductions.
For instance, you may qualify for a supplemental award if:
You had surgeries on both hips (bilateral surgery);
You had or will require multiple surgeries following your ASR implant surgery (rerevisions);
You experienced extraordinary medical events associated with your revision
surgery such as heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis,
dislocations or foot drop; or
You experience certain extraordinary injuries in a specified time frame in the
future.
Qualifying for a Base Award in Part A does not automatically entitle a qualified patient to
a supplemental award in Part B of the Program. A patient must produce medical
records to support all claims for supplemental awards.
Award Determinations
The amounts of the awards will be determined by experienced professionals staffing the
U.S. Program. If qualified patients disagree with the award determinations, they will
have the right to appeal them within the Program. By participating in the Program,
patients agree to abide by the outcome of the claims process and give up their litigation
rights as to their revised hip(s).
Enrollment Documents Required to Participate
Enrollment forms will be available shortly on the Claims Processor’s website
If you are an eligible patient, you or your lawyer must submit the following documents to
the Claims Processor no later than April 1, 2014, in order to participate in the U.S.
Program:
Required forms that are available from the Claims Processor, including the
Enrollment Form and a Claims Package;
Medical records demonstrating that you were implanted with an ASR, as well as
additional medical records pertaining to the surgeries implanting and removing
the ASR; and
A Release and Dismissal Stipulation, signed by the patient (and, under some
circumstances, by any other individual who may have an interest in the claim),
which becomes operative upon your receiving an award under the program.
After you submit these documents, the Claims Processor will determine whether you
qualify to participate in the U.S. Program.
Additional Information
ASR patients are required to register their claims by January 6, 2014. At least 94% of
those patients must enroll in the U.S. Program by April 1, 2014, and qualify to
participate for DePuy to be required to fund the U.S. Program.
DePuy will be responsible for most healthcare insurance liens for medical costs that are
directly associated with the revision surgery.
Deadlines
January 6, 2014: Registration of all ASR patient claims
April 1, 2014: Submission of claims packages and enrollment documents to the
Claims Processor for all eligible U.S. patients seeking to participate in the U.S.
Program