Hip replacement attorneys are fielding questions from patients who believe recalled or failing implants may have caused pain, bone loss, or revision surgery. Before filing, patients should understand what an attorney needs to review. The strongest first conversation usually focuses on implant identification, medical proof, filing deadlines, damages, and whether current litigation affects the path forward.
Can You Identify the Implant?
The first question to ask is whether the attorney can confirm the exact hip implant. A claim may depend on the manufacturer, model, liner, component size, lot number, and surgery date. Patients may be able to find this information on a joint replacement card, medical record sticker page, chart-stik label page, or operative report (source).
This step matters because hip replacement claims are product-specific. A patient may have pain after surgery, but the legal review changes if records show a recalled Exactech component, an older metal-on-metal device, or another implant system entirely. Without device identification, it may be difficult to know whether the claim fits any active litigation or recall.
What Medical Evidence Matters Most?
Patients should ask what medical records are needed beyond the original surgery file. Important documents may include orthopedic notes, X-rays, MRI or CT reports, blood tests if ordered, physical therapy records, pain complaints, mobility records, and revision surgery records.
Revision surgery can be especially important. A revision total hip replacement is a second operation to remove and replace some or all parts of the original implant. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that revision surgery is longer and more complex than the first hip replacement, and it may require specialized implants, bone grafts, or other tools when bone and soft tissue are damaged (source).
Does the Claim Involve a Recall?
Patients should also ask whether their implant is part of a recall or safety notice. The current recall-driven area includes Exactech joint replacement devices. Exactech’s own recall page provides product-specific information for knee, ankle, hip, and shoulder polyethylene liners sold in the United States (source).
An attorney may ask whether the patient received a recall letter, spoke with the surgeon, or had follow-up imaging after learning of a recall. Still, a recall alone may not prove damages. The review usually asks whether the recalled component caused symptoms, required medical monitoring, or led to revision surgery.
How Do Filing Deadlines Apply?
Patients should ask early about deadlines. Product-liability claims may be affected by state statutes of limitations, discovery rules, and statutes of repose. Some deadlines may run from the date of injury, while others may turn on when the patient discovered or reasonably should have discovered the implant problem (source).
This question is especially important for older hip replacements. A patient may have received the implant years ago but only recently learned about a recall, loosening, liner wear, or bone loss. An attorney can review whether the claim is still timely under the law that applies.
How Could Bankruptcy Affect the Case?
Exactech claims may involve an additional complication: bankruptcy. Exactech filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2024, and later bankruptcy developments affected how injury claimants may pursue recovery. A revised plan approved in September 2025 allowed Exactech to emerge from bankruptcy under new ownership and created a $2 million trust to pursue litigation claims against TPG, Exactech’s private-equity owner, on behalf of unsecured creditors (source).
Patients should ask whether bankruptcy affects filing, deadlines, claim forms, settlement timing, or recovery options. Bankruptcy does not mean every claim disappears, but it can change the process and make legal guidance more important.
What Outcomes Should Patients Expect?
Patients should ask about realistic outcomes, not guaranteed numbers. Past hip implant cases have produced large settlements, but current claims may follow different rules. Exactech also agreed to an $8 million settlement to resolve federal False Claims Act allegations involving defective knee implants, but that was not a hip replacement personal-injury settlement program (source).
For a hip replacement claim, possible value may depend on implant identity, medical complications, revision surgery, lost income, pain, future care, and proof that the device caused the harm. Attorneys should explain what is known, what is uncertain, and what evidence could strengthen or weaken the claim.
A Better First Call Starts With Records
Hip replacement attorneys can only give useful guidance when the facts are clear. Before filing, patients should ask how to identify the device, what medical proof is needed, whether a recall applies, which deadlines matter, and whether bankruptcy or settlement history affects the case.
The most useful first step is gathering records. Operative reports, sticker pages, surgeon notes, imaging, recall letters, revision records, and work-impact documents can help an attorney decide whether a claim deserves closer review.