J&J unit to pay $2.5 billion in U.S. hip implant settlement

By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) – A unit of Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay an estimated $2.5 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits from individuals allegedly injured by the company’s artificial hip implants, the company announced Tuesday. The settlement, announced during a hearing in federal court in Ohio on Tuesday, would compensate an estimated 8,000 patients who underwent surgery to replace their hip implants, according to a statement from Johnson & Johnson unit Depuy Orthopaedics Inc and lawyers for the plaintiffs.