DePuy Hip Lawsuit [2026 Update]

DePuy hip lawsuits involve allegations that certain metal hip implant systems were defectively designed and caused premature failure, severe pain, tissue damage, and other serious injuries.

Much of the litigation has focused on the DePuy ASR and Pinnacle systems, including configurations that placed a metal ball against a metal socket.

More than 93,000 patients worldwide received ASR implants before DePuy recalled the devices in 2010 following reports of unexpectedly high failure and revision rates.

Plaintiffs have alleged that DePuy marketed the implants despite knowing about elevated failure rates and failed to provide adequate warnings to patients and surgeons about potential risks.

DePuy’s Pinnacle system was not subject to the same recall, although lawsuits later alleged high failure rates and complications involving certain metal-on-metal configurations.

Many patients claimed the defective device caused problems that required another hip surgery far sooner than they expected.

Thousands of claims were ultimately filed in federal court and coordinated through separate multidistrict litigation proceedings for the ASR and Pinnacle products.

Injuries and complications alleged in DePuy hip lawsuits have included:

• Severe hip, groin, or leg pain
• Implant loosening or premature failure
• Metallosis and elevated cobalt or chromium levels
• Damage to bone and surrounding soft tissue
• Inflammation and adverse local tissue reactions
• Reduced mobility and difficulty walking
• Painful revision surgery to remove or replace the implant

Not every person who received a DePuy hip implant developed complications, and outcomes varied considerably among patients.

The likelihood and severity of problems can depend on the specific implant system, component configuration, length of implantation, and the patient’s individual medical circumstances.

Current DePuy claims therefore require careful review of the implanted device, medical history, alleged injuries, and whether the applicable filing deadline has passed.

Recent DePuy Hip Lawsuit Updates

As of 2026, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) reports around 100 remaining cases in the DePuy ASR litigation, which has involved 10,454 federal actions since MDL 2197 was established.

DePuy’s original U.S. ASR settlement program was valued at approximately $2.5 billion and has since resolved more than 10,000 claims involving the recalled hip implants.

The separate Pinnacle MDL has concluded its consolidated pretrial proceedings, and the JPML stopped transferring newly filed Pinnacle cases into MDL 2244 in June 2022.

Johnson & Johnson’s most recent DePuy-specific disclosure reported approximately 30 U.S. plaintiffs with pending ASR claims and 680 with pending Pinnacle claims as of December 28, 2025, although the company has not provided updated DePuy plaintiff counts in its 2026 quarterly filings.

Pinnacle claims involving an allegedly defective metal hip replacement can continue individually outside the former MDL, including the Muldoon case in California, which is currently scheduled for trial in January 2027.

The Ninth Circuit also affirmed a defense verdict for DePuy in January 2026 in King v. DePuy Orthopaedics, another Pinnacle case that proceeded individually after MDL proceedings.

The DePuy litigation is therefore substantially smaller than at its peak, but the ASR MDL remains open and individual Pinnacle cases continue outside the former centralized litigation.

Which DePuy Hip Implants Are Involved in Lawsuits?

DePuy hip litigation has primarily involved the ASR XL Acetabular System, ASR Hip Resurfacing System, and certain configurations of the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System.

The ASR devices used a metal-on-metal design in which metal components formed the artificial hip joint, while the Pinnacle litigation largely involved systems using the Ultamet metal liner.

DePuy recalled the ASR systems worldwide in August 2010 after data showed unexpectedly high revision rates.

According to the National Joint Registry, approximately 13% of ASR XL patients requiring revision surgery within five years.

The Pinnacle system was not included in the ASR recall, and not every Pinnacle configuration used a metal-on-metal bearing surface.

DePuy hip replacement lawsuits have included the following products:

• DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System: The ASR XL was included in MDL 2197 in the Northern District of Ohio and became the subject of extensive litigation alleging premature failure and other complications. Johnson & Johnson announced an initial U.S. ASR settlement program valued at approximately $2.5 billion in 2013, with later agreements expanding compensation to additional qualifying patients.
• DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System: The ASR Hip Resurfacing System was also included in the 2010 worldwide recall and the subsequent ASR litigation. Claims alleged that wear between the metal components could release debris and contribute to tissue damage, loosening, and premature revision surgery.
• DePuy Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System with Ultamet liner: Pinnacle lawsuits primarily involved configurations pairing the system with the cobalt-chromium Ultamet metal liner. Pinnacle cases were centralized separately in MDL 2244 in the Northern District of Texas, and DePuy agreed to a reported settlement of approximately $1 billion resolving most of roughly 6,000 revision cases in 2019.
• Continuing Pinnacle litigation: Individual Pinnacle claims continued after the centralized MDL wound down. In 2023, a federal court ordered Johnson & Johnson and other defendants to pay plaintiffs’ attorney fees and costs after finding that their attempt to move a Pinnacle case from Washington state court to federal court had unduly delayed the litigation.

What Is the Difference Between the DePuy ASR and Pinnacle Lawsuits?

The DePuy ASR and Pinnacle lawsuits involved different hip implant systems and proceeded through separate federal multidistrict litigation proceedings.

The ASR litigation centered on the ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System, which DePuy recalled worldwide in 2010 after reports of unexpectedly high revision rates.

Those cases were centralized in MDL 2197 in the Northern District of Ohio and later became the subject of a formal settlement program beginning in 2013.

Lawsuits involving Pinnacle devices focused primarily on certain metal-on-metal configurations of the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System and were centralized separately in MDL 2244 in the Northern District of Texas.

Pinnacle litigation produced several major bellwether verdicts and separate settlement activity beginning around 2019, but the product line was not included in the ASR recall.

Although MDL 2244 no longer has pending cases, individual Pinnacle claims may still proceed outside the former MDL.

DePuy hip lawsui is a broad term that covers two distinct product liability proceedings.

Are DePuy Hip Lawsuits Still Being Filed in 2026?

The large-scale DePuy hip mass litigation has mostly concluded, but some ASR and Pinnacle claims remain active in 2026.

Johnson & Johnson disclosed that Pinnacle lawsuits continued to be filed after the original centralized litigation had substantially wound down.

In June 2022, the JPML stopped transferring newly filed Pinnacle cases into MDL 2244 because the coordinated pretrial work was largely complete.

Newer Pinnacle claims therefore generally proceed individually in federal or state court rather than through the former MDL.

Whether a person can still file a DePuy hip lawsuit in 2026 may depend on the age of the implant, when complications were discovered, the date of any revision surgery, prior participation in a settlement program, and the statute of limitations in the applicable state.

DePuy metal-on-metal hip implants can release small particles and metal ions as the metal bearing surfaces wear against one another, and the FDA reports that cobalt and chromium from this process can enter both the tissue surrounding the joint and the bloodstream.

In some patients, accumulated metal debris can provoke an adverse local tissue reaction that damages muscle, bone, and other joint tissue, potentially causing severe pain, implant loosening, early failure, and the need for revision surgery.

Clinical research involving the DePuy ASR has documented unusually high failure rates after just a few years, including one study that reported six-year failure rates of 25% for ASR resurfacing and 48.8% for ASR total hip replacement, with elevated serum cobalt levels identified in more than one-quarter of the evaluated patients.

Another ASR XL study reported a 34.4% five-year revision rate in its relatively small patient cohort, with an average time to revision of just over three years.

Metallosis symptoms and related adverse tissue reactions may include hip or groin pain, swelling, weakness, difficulty walking, inflammation, bone loss, and pseudotumor formation, and research has associated some pseudotumors with higher cobalt and chromium concentrations.

Although patients with elevated cobalt and chromium levels may face an increased risk of serious complications, the FDA cautions that no single metal-ion level reliably determines whether a patient has tissue damage, will develop symptoms, or requires revision surgery.

Injuries and complications associated with or alleged in DePuy metal-on-metal hip cases include:

• Metallosis and adverse reactions to metal debris
• Elevated cobalt and chromium levels in the blood
• Inflammation and adverse local tissue reactions
• Tissue necrosis and damage to surrounding muscle
• Osteolysis and bone loss
• Pseudotumors and other soft-tissue masses
• Hip, groin, or leg pain
• Implant loosening
• Reduced mobility, weakness, or difficulty walking
• Premature implant failure
• Bone or device fracture
• Revision surgery to remove or replace failed components

Systemic cobalt or chromium effects require more cautious treatment than local implant complications because reports of cardiomyopathy, neurological or sensory changes, kidney impairment, thyroid dysfunction, and other conditions have largely come from case reports, and the true incidence of these effects remains uncertain.

Although severe cobalt toxicity is sometimes described as metal poisoning, an elevated blood-metal measurement by itself does not establish systemic toxicity or prove that a patient’s symptoms were caused by the implant.

FDA guidance therefore recommends evaluating symptoms, imaging findings, implant condition, and metal ion testing together rather than relying on cobalt or chromium levels alone.

Why Were DePuy ASR Hip Implants Recalled?

DePuy announced a worldwide recall of the ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System in August 2010 after joint-replacement registry data showed that the devices were requiring revision surgery more often than expected.

FDA recall records for the ASR XL state that DePuy initiated the U.S. recall on August 23, 2010, and identify newly available revision-rate data as a reason for the company’s safety actions.

Data cited in New Jersey court records showed that approximately 12% of patients with the ASR resurfacing device and 13% of patients with the ASR total hip replacement required revision surgery within five years.

UK government records similarly state that national registry data had identified higher-than-anticipated revision rates before DePuy informed regulators that it was conducting a worldwide recall.

The Pinnacle system was not subject to the same worldwide recall as the DePuy ASR devices, although DePuy later recalled certain Pinnacle components and product lots for specific manufacturing or labeling issues.

The metal-on-metal Pinnacle configurations at the center of most product liability lawsuits were removed from the market in 2013 rather than recalled as an entire product line.

DePuy and Johnson & Johnson have paid billions of dollars to resolve claims involving the ASR and Pinnacle hip systems.

More than 21,000 federal actions were historically centralized across the two DePuy hip MDLs, including 10,454 ASR actions and 10,581 Pinnacle actions.

The largest formal settlement program began in November 2013, when DePuy agreed to an ASR settlement valued at approximately $2.5 billion based on an estimated 8,000 participating patients.

The original program generally covered qualifying U.S. patients who underwent revision surgery related to the ASR recall before August 31, 2013.

Subsequent agreements in 2015 and 2017 expanded the program to patients who underwent qualifying revision surgeries at later dates, and cumulative ASR settlements were eventually reported at approximately $4.4 billion.

Under the original settlement agreement, the Part A program provided a $250,000 base award for certain qualifying revision claims, subject to reductions and other provisions, while additional compensation could be available for specified extraordinary injuries.

The historical $250,000 award structure applied to the ASR settlement program and should not be interpreted as an expected settlement amount for a DePuy hip lawsuit filed today.

Major DePuy hip settlements and related developments include:

• November 2013 – Approximately $2.5 billion ASR settlement: DePuy established a U.S. settlement program for qualifying ASR patients who underwent revision surgery before August 31, 2013. The formal agreement established an aggregate maximum funding obligation of approximately $2.475 billion assuming 8,000 qualifying participants.
• March 2015 – ASR settlement expansion: A second agreement extended compensation to qualifying patients whose ASR revision surgery occurred between August 31, 2013 and January 31, 2015.
• March 2017 – Additional ASR extension: The parties amended the 2015 agreement again to cover additional qualifying patients, ultimately extending the settlement program to certain revision surgeries performed before February 15, 2017.
• January 2019 – $120 million multistate settlement: Johnson & Johnson, DePuy, and related companies reached a $120 million settlement with the attorneys general of 46 jurisdictions over allegations that DePuy used misleading marketing claims concerning the ASR XL and Pinnacle Ultamet metal-on-metal hip implants. The settlement resolved state consumer-protection allegations and was not a compensation fund for patients who suffered implant injuries.
• 2019 – Approximately $1 billion in Pinnacle settlements: Johnson & Johnson reportedly agreed to settlements totaling about $1 billion that resolved more than 95% of approximately 6,000 Pinnacle cases involving patients whose implants had been surgically removed. The total included an earlier group of settlements worth more than $400 million, while approximately 4,500 other Pinnacle lawsuits remained unresolved at the time.

The Pinnacle settlements did not resolve every claim involving the device, and Johnson & Johnson later continued to report product liability lawsuits involving the Pinnacle implants.

The separate $120 million attorneys general settlement should not be added to estimates of compensation paid directly to injured hip replacement patients because it resolved government allegations concerning DePuy’s marketing practices.

Although cumulative ASR settlements have been reported at approximately $4.4 billion, that amount reflects multiple agreements and extensions rather than a single $4 billion settlement reached in 2013.

These historical settlement amounts provide context for the scope of the DePuy litigation but do not establish what an individual ASR or Pinnacle claim may be worth in 2026.

DePuy hip lawsuit settlements are negotiated resolutions between the parties, while jury verdicts are trial outcomes that may be challenged, reduced, or overturned on appeal.

Several DePuy Pinnacle trials produced large jury verdicts, including substantial punitive damages, but the original award amounts did not always survive post-trial motions and appellate review.

Bellwether verdicts were intended in part to test recurring issues in the litigation and inform future settlement discussions, rather than determine compensation for every plaintiff.

DePuy also won some trials, demonstrating that neither the ASR nor Pinnacle litigation produced uniform outcomes for injured patients.

Ongoing litigation for ASR cases continues with a small number of unresolved claims, but historical verdicts should not be interpreted as estimates of what a current DePuy claim may be worth.

Notable DePuy hip lawsuit verdicts include:

• March 2013 – $8.3 million ASR verdict: A California jury awarded Loren Kransky approximately $338,000 in economic damages and $8 million in noneconomic damages after finding that his DePuy ASR hip was defectively designed. The jury did not award punitive damages, and the California Court of Appeal later affirmed the judgment.
• October 2014 – Pinnacle defense verdict: DePuy and Johnson & Johnson prevailed in the first federal Pinnacle bellwether trial, showing that early test cases did not uniformly favor plaintiffs. The result was later contrasted with several much larger plaintiff verdicts in subsequent bellwether trials.
• March 2016 – Approximately $500 million Pinnacle verdict: A Dallas jury awarded five Texas plaintiffs roughly $140 million in compensatory damages and $360 million in punitive damages after finding that the Pinnacle metal-on-metal hips were defectively designed and inadequately warned. The trial court later reduced the award to approximately $151 million, and the Fifth Circuit subsequently vacated the judgment and ordered further proceedings.
• December 2016 – More than $1 billion Pinnacle verdict: A federal jury in Dallas awarded six California plaintiffs approximately $1.041 billion, including about $32 million in compensatory damages and more than $1 billion in punitive damages. The verdict was later reduced substantially, illustrating why original jury verdicts should not be treated as final recoveries.
• November 2017 – $247 million Pinnacle verdict: Another Dallas jury awarded six New York plaintiffs approximately $247 million after finding that the Pinnacle metal-on-metal hips were defectively designed and that DePuy and Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn about their risks. The plaintiffs alleged injuries including tissue death and bone erosion, and the award included both compensatory and punitive damages.
• 2024–2026 – King Pinnacle defense verdict and appeal: A jury found in favor of DePuy in Michael and Deborah King’s individually litigated Pinnacle case after it left the former MDL. On January 9, 2026, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the defense judgment, providing a recent example of a Pinnacle case proceeding individually and ending without a plaintiff recovery.

Potential DePuy hip implant lawsuits generally involve claims that a defective metal-on-metal system caused injury, premature failure, or the need for additional treatment.

During a case review, attorneys typically confirm the exact implant model and component configuration because not every DePuy hip device was involved in the same litigation.

Medical records may also show whether a patient developed severe pain, metallosis, adverse tissue reactions, implant loosening, or other complications associated with a failing metal-on-metal hip.

Revision surgery can be an important factor, particularly in cases involving documented implant failure, tissue damage, or elevated cobalt or chromium levels.

Attorneys will also examine when the patient first developed symptoms or learned that the implant may have caused the injury because those dates can affect the applicable statute of limitations.

Prior participation in an ASR or Pinnacle settlement program must also be reviewed because an earlier settlement or release may affect whether another claim can be pursued.

Operative reports, implant stickers, hospital records, imaging, pathology findings, and revision records can help a law firm identify the device and evaluate whether the medical evidence supports a product liability claim.

Patients seeking legal representation should consider a lawyer experienced in product liability and tort law with the resources needed to investigate medical records, retain qualified experts, and handle a potentially complex DePuy case.

Evidence in DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuits

Evidence is important in a DePuy hip replacement lawsuit because a claimant must connect the specific implanted device to the injuries and complications being alleged.

Medical records can help establish when symptoms began, how the implant performed over time, and whether doctors identified metallosis, loosening, tissue damage, or another device-related problem.

Device-identification records are especially important because DePuy manufactured multiple hip systems and not every configuration was involved in the same litigation.

Evidence of revision surgery, metal ion testing, imaging findings, and pathology results can also help document the severity and progression of an alleged implant failure.

Evidence that may be relevant in a DePuy hip replacement lawsuit includes:

• Operative reports from the original hip replacement surgery
• Implant stickers, product labels, and device identification records
• Hospital and orthopedic medical records
• Revision surgery records
• X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other diagnostic imaging
• Blood tests measuring cobalt or chromium levels
• Pathology reports documenting tissue damage or metal debris
• Records diagnosing metallosis or adverse local tissue reactions
• Medical records documenting pain, swelling, weakness, or reduced mobility
• Records showing implant loosening, failure, or bone loss
• Notes showing when symptoms first developed or worsened
• Records concerning prior participation in a DePuy settlement program
• Employment and wage records when lost income is claimed
• Expert medical or engineering opinions concerning causation and device failure

Potential Compensation in DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuits

Damages in a DePuy hip replacement lawsuit are intended to compensate an injured patient for the financial and personal losses associated with an allegedly defective implant.

The amount available in an individual case can depend on the severity of the injury, whether revision surgery was required, the extent of permanent impairment, and the patient’s past and future medical needs.

Lawyers assess damages by reviewing medical records, treatment costs, employment records, expert opinions, and other evidence showing how the implant-related complications affected the patient’s health and daily life.

Future losses may require input from medical, vocational, or economic experts to estimate ongoing treatment needs, reduced earning capacity, or long-term disability.

Historical DePuy settlements and verdicts can provide context, but they do not establish what any current claim will be worth.

Potential damages in a DePuy hip replacement lawsuit may include:

• Past medical expenses
• Future medical treatment and rehabilitation costs
• Costs associated with revision surgery
• Lost wages and other past income losses
• Reduced future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Physical impairment or disability
• Loss of mobility and reduced quality of life
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium in qualifying cases
• Other out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury
• Punitive damages in cases where applicable law permits them and the evidence supports such an award

DePuy hip replacement litigation has involved thousands of claims concerning ASR and Pinnacle devices, and some patients may still have viable product liability claims despite the age of the original mass litigation.

Determining whether a claim can move forward requires careful review of the specific implant, medical complications, revision history, prior settlement participation, and applicable filing deadlines.

TorHoerman Law is investigating potential DePuy hip replacement claims involving patients who experienced metallosis, implant loosening, tissue damage, severe pain, premature failure, or other serious complications.

Contact TorHoerman Law for a free consultation, or use the website chat feature to discuss your potential claim.

TorHoerman Law represents qualifying clients on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no attorney fees unless compensation is recovered.