According to five independent sources, Johnson & Johnson may be in the process of discussing a $3 billion hip implant settlement.

In total, the company faces 11,500 domestic lawsuits over issues with its metal-on-metal hip implants. To settle these lawsuits, the company may pay over $300,000 per case. If all the plaintiffs in the settlement accept the financial terms of the agreement, the total settlement price would be higher than $3 billion.

This settlement is significant in several different ways. In comparison with previous settlement discussions, the latest offer is almost 50% larger. In total, this settlement would dwarf other joint implant settlements.

The company hopes to resolve many of these lawsuits by 2014. In total, Johnson & Johnson's DePuy division recalled 93,000 implants for the 2010 year. This includes 37,000 recalls in the United States. This recall came after the five-year failure rate for implants reached 12%. As time passes on, that number continues to increase. In many cases patients blame cobalt and chromium hip implants for replacement surgeries, metal debris and pain.

For its part, Johnson & Johnson has spent almost $1 billion on medical and information distribution costs.

"The company also continues to support ASR patients with a reimbursement program to address recall-related testing and treatment costs," notes a DePuy spokesperson. "Reports about a possible resolution of the litigation are premature and speculative, including any estimates of resolution amounts."