DePuy hip victims need to apply commonsense to the DePuy hip scandal. What will commonsense tell them?
They will know:
A) That they have excessive, abnormal and dangerous levels of cobalt and chromium in their blood;
B) That it is now, or soon will be, necessary to have one or more defective DePuy hips removed from their body;
C) That these circumstances will cause them pain and suffering of indeterminate extent and duration;
D) That no compensation will be given to them by anybody who is not compelled to do it;
They can get more commonsense, if they need it, from their legal advisors:
1) Will the litigation be quick and easy? No. No litigation is quick and easy;
2) Will it be impossible to succeed? No. Liability is not a major issue. DePuy are already offering payments to deter resort to litigation.
3) Will it be expensive? Yes. All litigation is expensive.
4) How expensive? Less expensive than C) above.
5) What is the big issue in the litigation? Proof of damage.
Legal advisors will, or should, advise that the urgent issue is to commence the litigation. This is necessary to stop time running under the Statute of Limitations. Plaintiffs in personal injury actions have only two years within which to issue their claims in court. If they miss the deadline their right to litigate is extinguished. See our post on the subject HERE.
It is essential to know that the Injuries Board has no role in the DePuy hip scandal. If a victim lodges an application to the Injuries Board, it is a mistake. The Injuries Board will, in due course, reject it. Worse than that, time will continue to run against the plaintiff while the application is being made and considered. In short, it is a waste of valuable and scarce time.
There are excellent arguments to show that for some, possibly many, people time has not yet started to run and therefore cannot expire. The problem with those arguments is this; it is possible to lose the argument. The loss of that argument is a very expensive loss. Everything should be done to avoid having to make the argument in the first place. In short, issue the proceedings.
It is not necessary to know the full extent of the loss to properly issue proceedings.
Issue first and measure afterwards.