When people update themselves on the status of the ongoing hip replacement lawsuits in blogs, forums and news briefs, parent company of DePuy Othopaedics, Johnson & Johnson is sure to be mentioned more than a few times. Individuals who have received either one of the defective ASR XL Acetabular Sytem and ASR Hip Resurfacing System find themselves seeking damages from both DePuy and Johnson & Johnson. But what most plaintiffs do not realize is that there is a huge probability of Johnson & Johnson acquiring a dismissal from these DePuy lawsuits in court.

If, for any reason, you have named both DePuy and Johnson & Johnson as companies responsible for the product recall, you are in no danger of being penalized for it. However, the court may hold DePuy more liable than J&J for a couple of reasons. This is where corporate law gets into action as opposed to mere product liability law.

A parent company such as Johnson & Johnson owns the majority of shares in its subsidiary, DePuy. This being the case, multiple powers are held by J&J over DePuy and it has the authority to execute tasks such as appointing board of directors, who are then responsible for selecting company officers like CEO's and CFO's.

One might wonder why they would go to such lengths in putting up a second or division company when they could integrate it in their system. However convenient that might be, what is more important to corporations such as J&J is that they can be protected under what is called limited liability.

Limited liability is where stockholders and partners cannot lose more than they contribute to the corporation or partnership. They will not be personally held liable for any debts or obligations of the subsidiary in the event that these are not met.

While Johnson & Johnson might do any means necessary to be able to get their cases dismissed from court, you still have the right to seek and recover damages from DePuy. If you file a DePuy hip lawsuit instead of neogtiating with them through their claims process, you might find yourself gaining greater possibilities of acquiring just compensation.