Pinnacle MDL Judge Refuses to Award Hospital $1,000 Fee for Preserving Explanted Device

DALLAS — A federal judge has ruled that a plaintiff in the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant MDL is not required to pay a $1,000 fee that a Washington state hospital charged to preserve the allegedly defective device after it had been surgically removed from the plaintiff’s hip.

In a July 18 order, Judge Ed Kinkeade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that there was no evidence the hospital incurred any expenses in preserving the device, or complying with a subpoena to produce the implant, that could justify the $1,000 charge.

The Seattle-based Swedish …