Forbes blogger Peter Cohan estimates that orthopedic implant companies—including Warsaw-based Zimmer Holdings Inc. and DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.—will pay out $5 billion to cover legal claims that their all-metal hip implants have failed, causing new health issues.
The metal pieces of the implants allegedly generate debris as they rub against each other, and the debris is damaging tissue, causing infections and, in extreme cases, leading to crippling complications. Cohan broadcast his prediction after the New York Times published an article on the problem last week. The Times noted that...