By Kim Truongle –
ASR – We are pleased to report that all of our clients who elected to participate in the U.S. ASR Settlement earlier this year have been funded the majority of their claim. We currently await the Settlement Administrator’s review of bonus claims out of the Extraordinary Injury Fund, and it is anticipated that this review will take several more months, due to the number of claims submitted nationwide. For clients whose ASR hip has not yet been revised, we are working to comply with the Judge’s recent Order to take action to dismiss (yet preserve) claims, or move forward with limited case-specific discovery. If you are one of our ASR clients and have not been contacted by us in recent months, it is important that you contact us immediately at (800) 269-3050, as your contact information is likely outdated.
Pinnacle – The Pinnacle litigation is, as expected, moving at a slower pace than the ASR litigation. The first Pinnacle MDL trial occurred this year, and unfortunately, the verdict was handed down in the Defendant’s favor. We are keeping an eye on further developments in this litigation.
Other Manufacturers – We are also working on hip cases manufactured by Biomet, Wright Medical, and Zimmer, though these make up a much smaller percentage of our docket. If you have one of those cases with us, please feel free to phone our office for an update on your specific case.
Case-Specific Updates – Due to the unique nature of these claims, our office usually does not proactively contact you unless a major development has occurred in your case. Otherwise, our time would be spent just updating clients, instead of working on the case itself. Not hearing from us does not mean that your case is idle, nor does it mean that you are not represented. Instead, we have an “open door” policy that anytime you would like an update, simply phone us at (800) 269-3050 to speak to a Case Manager. If one is unavailable due to the volume of calls, you will receive a callback within 1 business day. Instead of generic updates done in a mass mailout, we think this method better keeps you updated on YOUR specific case, and it also works better to fit into your busy schedule.
We are moving forward on our hip cases and hope to be able to report a positive outcome for our clients.
Happy Holidays to you and yours as we look forward to 2015!
