Settlements for faulty hips may reach €500k

A lawyer representing upwards of 300 clients fitted with faulty hip implants in Ireland expects the first cases to be settled by Christmas for sums well in excess of the reported €220,000 earmarked for individuals who sued and settled in the US.

Peter McDonnell of Dublin legal firm McDonnell and Associates said that, given the young age profile of many of his clients and the lifetime loss of earnings they may endure, he would expect any settlements to be considerably higher, perhaps up to €500,000.

“Some of the people I represent are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, so you could be talking about 30 years’ loss of earnings, pain, and suffering,” said Mr McDonnell. “Some of their surgeons have told them they will have great difficulty performing any future revisions because the defective implant caused so much damage to the bone.”