Hip implant settlement nets $3 million for Georgia

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) corporate headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J. are shown Friday, July 19, 2002. (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer)

Credit: DANIEL HULSHIZER

Credit: DANIEL HULSHIZER

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) corporate headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J. are shown Friday, July 19, 2002. (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer)

Georgia’s government will receive $3 million from a settlement resolving allegations that Johnson & Johnson made deceptive marketing claims about metal-on-metal hip implants.

The money is Georgia’s share of $120 million that will be distributed among 46 states that had sued Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and other state attorneys general alleged that DePuy falsely advertised the longevity of the ASR XL and Pinnacle Ultamet hip implants. Patients frequently had to undergo revision surgery within five years.

"Physicians and patients depend on accurate, up-to-date information in order to make healthcare decisions that are sound, safe and suitable," Carr said Tuesday. "Today's settlement helps to ensure that doctors receive the critical information needed to properly care for their patients."