Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s settlement with Australian patients who received faulty knee implants was approved by a judge, clearing the way for compensation to be paid beginning at A$30,000 ($31,000) per user. Pamela Casey, who had a total knee replacement in 2008, sued Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy International unit in 2010 on behalf of all patients who had received the DePuy LCS Duofix Femoral implant. The companies agreed to settle the lawsuit in August with Federal Court Justice Robert Buchanan approving the deal today. “There have been very few complaints among the more than 430 inquiries received regarding the proposed settlement,” Buchanan wrote in his reasons for approval. None of the complaints “provide a reason not to approve the settlement,” he said. DePuy and New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson voluntarily recalled the knee implant in 2009 after reports of defects surfaced. Prior to the recall, 5,071 of the implants were used in Australia, the judge said.
