J&J questions fairness of hip implant trial, $1 billion verdict

Although legal experts think J&J faces an uphill battle, both they and investors believe the Texas jury's penalty, the largest product liability verdict so far this year, is unlikely to stand. In the two-month trial, five separate people from California argued that design flaws in the metal-on-metal implant made by J&J subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics caused tissue death, bone erosion and other injuries. It is the second large verdict against J&J in the Pinnacle implant litigation, which has been consolidated before U.S. District Court Judge Edward Kinkeade in Texas.