171 patients received compensation for faulty hip replacements from J&J: Health Ministry

Around 171 patients have received compensation so far for faulty hip replacements from Johnson and Johnson, the Ministry of Health Affairs informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Replying to a query in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Health Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey said the High Court of Delhi, on May 30 last year, ordered that the petitioner pay the sum of Rs 25 lakh to each verified claimant, without prejudice to the rights of the claimants.

"Based on the court order, a list of verified claimants along with supporting documents has been provided to M/s Johnson and Johnson for complying with the court's order. As per records, 171 patients have received compensation," Choubey said.

The government had constituted a committee to examine the issues relating to faulty ASR Hip Implants. The committee, after detailed examination of the issue, submitted its report to the government, which accepted the recommendations with some modifications.

Based on the accepted recommendations, the government constituted a Central Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr R K Arya, Director, Sports Injury Centre, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, inter-alia to determine the quantum of compensation.

"A formula for determining compensation for the affected patients has been formulated and placed in public domain. The affected patients can approach either the Central Expert Committee or state level committees constituted by the state governments as per their convenience.

"M/s Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd. was asked to comply with the recommendations of the committee and to pay the compensation as per the formula approved by the government in the interest of the patients. However, M/s Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd. challenged the expert committee report on payment of compensation before the Honourable High Court of Delhi," he said.