2013年10月30日讯 /SciFans.net/ --强生公司旗下DePuy公司销售的金属髋移植物案件审理再次被延迟。该案件原计划于九月审理，后被迫推迟。此次推迟将使得案件在未来三个月内无法重新开庭。美国工作人员解释说这是由于法庭面临额外的举证困难所致。这起案件起源于DePuy生产销售的金属髋移植物产品ASR metal-on-metal hips因出现问题而全球召回，此举导致强生公司面临超过10000件民事诉讼，涉及赔偿金总额可能达到30亿美元。（SciFans.net）
详细英文报道：
What was supposed to be the first federal trial over a lawsuit alleging Johnson & Johnson's ($JNJ) DePuy division sold faulty all-metal hips never began as planned in late September. It turns out that a start date may not happen for three more months (if it happens at all), due to challenges involved in scheng expert witnesses.
U.S. District Court Judge David Katz in Ohio tacked on the additional delay after the witness-scheng obstacles, noted the law firm Brown, Paindiris & Scott, which is representing a number of plaintiffs in metal-hip lawsuits against J&J and its rivals. The trial had initially been set to begin on Sept. 9 and then was rescheduled to Sep. 24, the attorneys explained.
J&J/DePuy's ASR metal-on-metal hips have been a fiasco for the company, which recalled 93,000 of them globally in 2010. The global consumer and healthcare products giant faces up to 11,500 lawsuits alleging that it sold a defective product that harmed thousands of patients (something that rivals including Stryker ($SYK) and Biomet are also facing). The federal trial, once it starts, is a major milestone because close to 8,000 federal lawsuits are consolidated under Judge Katz, the attorney announcement said.
It remains an open question at this point, however, whether the federal trial will even start. Media reports have suggested that J&J may want to settle all of its remaining lawsuits--a deal that could surpass $3 billion.
J&J, meanwhile, has settled at least two other metal hip lawsuits so far in October. Executives have said that the company will leave the metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-metal hip business by the end of 2014. Rather than blame the metal hip lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson said it is cutting back on hips because of rapidly declining clinician use of the products, plus stricter FDA regulations.
