Dozens of recalled hip cases may not proceed

Dozens of cases being taken against the manufacturers of allegedly defective hip replacements may be struck out following a ruling by the High Court.

In what is regarded as a test action with possible implications for a number of Irish cases, Ms Justice Mary Faherty ruled that a claim brought by Randa Murphy against the hip-replacement makers required an authorisation from the Personal Assessment Injuries Board (PIAB), now known as injuriesboard.ie, before it could proceed to a court hearing.

Ms Murphy has sued DePuy International Ltd, owned by Johnson & Johnson. DePuy is subject to thousands of cases worldwide, including several hundred here, arising from its 2010 worldwide recall of faulty hip-replacement systems that it sold.