Limb replacement settlement lifts Sulzer

Hundreds of thousands of hips are replaced worldwide every year

Sulzer Medica, the Swiss-based orthopaedic device maker, has said all but 120 of the thousands of patients hit by faulty hip and knee implants have accepted its $1bn settlement offer.

The company's US unit has been pushed to the verge of bankruptcy following lawsuits.

Litigation began after lubricant residue on some artificial joints had prevented them from bonding properly with the bone.

Medica said 120 patients, or 0.4% of the total, had not accepted its offer but it would try to cut that number through further talks.

Analysts originally expected the number of opt outs to be about 60.

Chris Larsen, Medica's chief financial officer, told the BBC's World Business Report the company was happy with the number of patients opting to settle.

But, he said, the claim administrator at the court was still calculating final numbers for how many patients would opt out of the settlement agreement.

Decision looms

Europe's largest orthopaedic devices maker now has until May 22 to decide whether to go ahead with the settlement or to put its US unit Sulzer Orthopaedics into US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

An earlier settlement in a Texas court resulted in three elderly women receiving $5m each.

Medica will contribute about $725m to the settlement with the rest coming from its former parent company, industrial group Sulzer and its insurers.

The high-profile US litigation affecting about 30,000 people wiped millions from the company's market value in 2001.

Medica was spun off from parent Sulzer almost a year ago and has been attempting to establish a separate identity.

Medica has also said it will change its name to Centerpulse from 1 June.