J&J faulty implants case: 67 people to get Rs 25 lakh each

The interim direction came after J&J volunteered to pay Rs 25 lakh during a hearing of its petition on May 2, as compensation to the affected.

Pharma major Johnson and Johnson (J&J) on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that it will pay Rs 25 lakh each to 67 patients who had undergone revision surgeries after receiving faulty hip implants from the company.

The company told Justice Vibhu Bakhru that though the Central government has given a list of 93 people affected, J&J authorities were able to verify documents of only 67 claimants. It added that the payment must not be construed as an admission of liability on its part.

To this, the court replied that it had not examined the controversy raised in the writ petition. “This is only an ad-hoc sum. If they (J&J) need to pay Rs one crore, they will have to do that.”

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Making it clear that the payment was being made “without prejudice to the rights and contention of the parties” in the matter, the judge stipulated that payments must be disbursed before the next date of hearing – August 8.

(Illustration: Suvajit Dey)

Meanwhile, the Central government standing’s counsel Kirtiman Singh, told the court that they had been receiving fresh claims. Senior Advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for J&J, replied that J&J had setup a helpline number to receive calls and that claims that were verified would receive the same amount. The interim direction came after J&J volunteered to pay Rs 25 lakh during a hearing of its petition on May 2, as compensation to the affected.