J&J looks to settle Depuy suits

In an attempt to settle thousands of lawsuits in the U.S., Johnson and Johnson is reportedly considering paying $3 billion to people who suffered injuries following hip replacement surgery.

Bloomberg reports that the lawsuits revolve around more than 11,000 claims that J&J subsidiary DePuy acted with gross negligence when its hip replacement devices were put on the market. The plaintiffs claim that the company failed to properly test the product before putting it on the market.

In 2010, J&J's DePuy unit recalled 93,000 implants worldwide after more than 12 percent of them failed within five years.

However, if J&J does agree to settle the DePuy lawsuit, it may not mean the end of these types of lawsuits. There are still many cases pending against other healthcare giants including Stryker due to similar complaints.

In June 2012, Stryker initiated a voluntary recall of its Rejuvenate and ABG II hip replacement products due to the potential of wear and corrosion. The Stryker hip failure recall involved reports of more than 500,000 patients who suffered serious injuries from the metal ball and sockets, including premature failure, elevated levels of metal in the blood and pain and swelling around the hip joint.

And research may help those affected by a hip replacement device. A report in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery earlier this year found a link between the type of corrosion with the Stryker Rejuvenate and local soft tissue destruction, as well as metallosis.

The research suggests that patients implanted with the recalled products should be evaluated for local tissue reactions and take a blood test to ensure that their hips are functioning properly.