The Stryker hip lawsuit covers three defective implant lines: the Rejuvenate and ABG II modular hip stems, recalled in 2012, and the LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral head, recalled in 2016. Across two major settlement programs for the Rejuvenate and ABG II devices alone, Stryker has paid an estimated $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion to resolve claims.1Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Replacement Settlements A separate confidential settlement resolved the LFIT V40 litigation in November 2018. A newer wave of lawsuits over the Tritanium Acetabular Shell, which has not been recalled, has been building since 2019 and remains open to new claims.
Which Stryker Hip Devices Are Involved
Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular Hip Stems
Both devices used a two-piece neck-stem junction instead of the single-piece design common to traditional hip implants. The junction where the cobalt-chromium neck met the titanium stem produced friction and micro-movements, causing the metal components to corrode and shed metallic particles into the patient’s body.2Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Recall The FDA classified the root cause as a device design flaw.3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Class 2 Device Recall, Recall Number Z-2090-2012
Stryker sent surgeons an “Urgent Product Correction” letter in April 2012 and then pulled the products from the market entirely on June 29, 2012, halting global sales and production. About 43,900 units had been distributed.3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Class 2 Device Recall, Recall Number Z-2090-2012
LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Head
On August 29, 2016, Stryker recalled the LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral head, the ball-shaped component that sits atop the hip stem. The recall covered 42,519 units manufactured before 2011.4U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Class 2 Device Recall, LFIT Anatomic V40 Femoral Head These cobalt-chromium heads were often paired with the Accolade TMZF titanium stem, and the mismatch of metals at the taper caused what surgeons call taper lock failure. The femoral head could loosen, corrode, or separate from the stem entirely.5Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. Stryker Accolade FAQ In May 2018, Stryker expanded the recall to include eight additional sizes.2Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Recall
Tritanium Acetabular Shell
The Tritanium Acetabular Shell and Cup remains on the market. Lawsuits allege the device is defectively designed and prone to aseptic loosening, meaning the implant fails to bond with the surrounding bone and shifts or detaches without any infection. The FDA’s adverse event database contains over 200 complaints about the Tritanium cup, with more than 130 citing loosening or migration.6AboutLawsuits.com. Stryker TAC Hip Lawsuit
Injuries Reported by Patients
Patients with the recalled metal devices reported hip and groin pain, swelling, bone loss (osteolysis), tissue death (necrosis), soft-tissue masses called pseudotumors, implant loosening, and joint instability.7Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Replacement Many described popping, clicking, or squeaking from the hip and loss of mobility.
Elevated cobalt and chromium ions in the bloodstream have been linked to damage affecting the heart, kidneys, thyroid, liver, and nervous system.7Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Replacement Some patients reported cognitive problems and depression. Published research found that blood metal ion levels in patients with failing metal-on-metal hips could reach concentrations more than 150 times higher than normal, and those levels persisted for at least a year after revision, with a half-life of roughly 50 days.8National Institutes of Health, PubMed Central. Changes in Blood Ion Levels After Removal of Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements
For most affected patients, the only fix was a revision surgery to remove the failed implant and replace it.
Rejuvenate and ABG II Settlement Payouts
On November 3, 2014, Stryker announced a global settlement program for patients who had undergone revision surgery to remove a Rejuvenate or ABG II hip stem before that date. The company initially recorded $1.425 billion in charges to cover it, calling that figure the “actuarially determined low end” of probable losses.9Stryker Corporation. Stryker Orthopaedics Announces Settlement Agreement This was not a class action. Eligible patients enrolled individually, and more than 95% did.10Stryker Corporation. Stryker Orthopaedics to Compensate Additional Eligible US Patients
The program provided a base award of $300,000 per failed implant, with additional compensation for surgical complications, multiple revisions, or an inability to undergo revision at all.11Robins Kaplan LLP. Global Resolution Reached in Lawsuits Over Stryker Rejuvenate ABG II Failed Hips Some plaintiffs received as much as $600,000.12ClassAction.com. Stryker Hip Implants Settlement
On December 19, 2016, Stryker announced a second program for patients who had revision surgery between November 2014 and December 19, 2016.10Stryker Corporation. Stryker Orthopaedics to Compensate Additional Eligible US Patients The company did not disclose a specific dollar amount for that round, but across both settlements Stryker is estimated to have paid between $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion.1Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Replacement Settlements
A third program in 2020 opened additional opportunities for remaining claims. It kept the $300,000 base award but applied reductions based on the patient’s age at the time of implant surgery, the length of time the implant was in place, and whether the claimant had an attorney.13Stryker Modular Hip Settlement. Settlement FAQ These programs are now closed to new enrollees. Individuals who did not participate are pursuing claims through individual trial proceedings.1Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Replacement Settlements
LFIT V40 Confidential Settlement
The LFIT V40 litigation was resolved in November 2018 through a confidential agreement between Stryker’s subsidiary Howmedica Osteonics and the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. Archer Systems, LLC was appointed settlement administrator, and retired Judge Diane M. Welsh served as a third-party neutral over the process.14U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Order Aiding Private Settlement No official dollar figure has been disclosed, though one law firm reported a $75 million settlement covering roughly 2,500 claims.15Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers. Stryker Hip Lawsuits Federal cases were consolidated in MDL 2768 in the District of Massachusetts, and parallel state cases were consolidated as multicounty litigation in Bergen County, New Jersey. Roughly 55 federal cases remained pending as of May 2026.16Drugwatch. Hip Replacement Lawsuits
Tritanium Lawsuits Are Still Being Filed
The first notable Tritanium case, Linda Kay Benton v. Howmedica Osteonics Corp., was filed in August 2019 in the Superior Court of New Jersey for Bergen County. The plaintiff received her Tritanium cup in October 2014 and needed revision surgery less than four years later.6AboutLawsuits.com. Stryker TAC Hip Lawsuit Plaintiffs allege Stryker knew about the device’s tendency toward early failure based on internal analysis and reports from orthopedic conferences.
As of mid-2026, Tritanium claims are proceeding as individual lawsuits in federal, state, and local courts. There is no MDL consolidation, and no settlements have been reported. Attorneys are continuing to investigate and accept new cases.17Seeger Weiss LLP. Stryker Hip Replacement Lawsuit18Drugwatch. Stryker Hip Lawsuits
Where the Litigation Stands Now
Both established federal MDLs are winding down. MDL 2441 in the District of Minnesota, which at its peak consolidated over 3,600 Rejuvenate and ABG II lawsuits, had roughly 10 cases pending as of May 2026, with discovery stayed.16Drugwatch. Hip Replacement Lawsuits19U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota. Stryker Rejuvenate MDL MDL 2768 in Massachusetts still had about 55 LFIT V40 cases pending in the settlement phase.
For anyone who has one of these devices and thinks they may have a claim, the practical picture breaks down by product. Rejuvenate and ABG II settlement programs are closed; a late-arriving claim now means individual litigation. LFIT V40 claims fall under the 2018 confidential settlement framework. Tritanium cases are the active front, with new lawsuits still being filed.