15. Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

From time to time, we are involved in various legal proceedings, including product liability, intellectual property, stockholder matters, tax disputes, commercial disputes, employment matters, whistleblower and qui tam claims and investigations, governmental proceedings and investigations, and other legal matters that arise in the normal course of our business. These include, among others, product liability claims relating to the Durom Cup, Zimmer M/L Taper, M/L Taper with Kinectiv Technology, Versys Femoral Head and the M2a-Magnum hip system. On a quarterly and annual basis, we review relevant information with respect to loss contingencies and update our accruals, disclosures and estimates of reasonably possible losses or ranges of loss based on such reviews. We establish liabilities for loss contingencies on an undiscounted basis when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a known or probable loss is a range, and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the minimum amount of the range is accrued. For matters where a loss is believed to be reasonably possible, but not probable, or if no reasonable estimate of known or probable loss is available, no accrual has been made.

When determining the estimated loss or range of loss, significant judgment is required. Estimates of probable losses resulting from litigation and other contingencies are inherently difficult to predict, particularly when the matters are in early procedural stages with incomplete facts or legal discovery, involve unsubstantiated or indeterminate claims for damages, involve multidistrict litigation, involve multiple foreign jurisdictions and/or potentially involve penalties, fines or punitive damages. In addition to the matters described herein, we remain subject to the risk of future governmental, regulatory and legal actions. Governmental and regulatory actions may lead to product recalls, injunctions and other restrictions on our operations and monetary sanctions, which may include substantial civil or criminal penalties. Actions involving intellectual property could result in a loss of patent protection or the ability to market products, which could lead to significant sales reductions or cost increases, or otherwise materially affect the results of our operations.

We recognize litigation-related charges and gains in Selling, general and administrative expense on our condensed consolidated statement of earnings. During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, we recognized $2.1 million and $1.0 million, respectively, of net litigation-related charges. At March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, accrued litigation liabilities were $135.4 million and $156.4 million, respectively. These litigation-related charges and accrued liabilities reflect all of our litigation-related contingencies. The ultimate cost of litigation could be materially different than the amount of the current estimates and accruals and could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Other Contingencies

Contractual obligations: We have entered into development, distribution and other contractual arrangements that may result in future payments dependent upon various events such as the achievement of certain product R&D milestones, sales milestones, or, at our discretion, maintenance of exclusive rights to distribute a product. Since there is uncertainty on the timing or whether such payments will have to be made, they have not been recognized on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. These estimated payments could range from $0 to approximately $325 million.