Products Liability
Our hernia mesh lawyers seek new clients suffering severe side effects from these defective products. Over 25,000 hernia mesh lawsuits have been filed and over 21,000 in the Bard litigation alone.
Three hernia mesh device lawsuits have gone to trial. A settlement for Bard cases may be coming soon. Our hernia mesh lawyers provide the latest news and updates in the hernia mesh class actions below.
Hernia Mesh Class Action Lawsuit News and Updates
Before we get projected hernia mesh settlement amounts, let’s get you up to speed on the latest developments in the hernia mesh lawsuits.
July 9, 2024: Waiting
There has been no other additional information provided on the settlement agreement. We are just waiting to see what is in the agreement and more details on how it will work for victims who do not want to participate in the settlement.
July 6, 2024: Master Settlement Agreement
Two new court orders published yesterday reference a Master Settlement Agreement. We do not have any more details but it is clear a global settlement is becoming a reality.
July 1, 2024: Motion on Settlement Confidentiality Rejected; Settlement Rumors Continue
On Friday, two law firms with “several hundred” plaintiffs and Bard filed a motion in the Bard MDL to seal the terms of their hernia mesh settlement with Bard. Today, the court rejected the motion, emphasizing that the public has a strong right to access court records. To seal a document, there must be very strong reasons, which the parties have not provided, the MDL judge said. The Court has previously ruled that claims of potential prejudice are not enough to justify sealing.
What we have been telling you is that some firms have settled out with Bard. All that has been under wraps until this motion broke the silence. This is in the midst of A LOT of rumors of a global settlement is on deck.
June 24, 2024: We ARE Taking New Bard Claims
A part of the reason for the high volume of new lawsuits last month is that lawyers see a settlement in the air in the Bard cases. Some law firms have reportedly already settled their inventory of Bard hernia mesh lawsuits.
After a break, we are back to taking new hernia mesh claims.
If you want a settlement prediction, we are estimating an average settlement amount between $60,000 and $70,000 a case. That is just our speculation. We think our law firm’s cases may be higher than that for a number of reasons.
If you want to bring a claim, we could be at the now or never point in terms of finding a lawyer. This could all be over any second now.
If you want to talk to us about bringing a claim, call us at 800-553-8082 or submit an online contact form.
June 19, 2024: Study on Robotic Hernia Repairs
A research study published in a major medical journal this week reports that people who opt for robotic hernia repair surgeries are much more likely to have their hernia reoccur compared to those who undergo traditional procedures.
June 3, 2024: 640 New Cases
The Bard Hernia Mesh class action MDL is still expanding rapidly. In May alone, 640 new hernia mesh cases were added, surpassing last month’s increase. This brings the total number of pending cases to 22,896.
May 30, 2024: Bard Mesh Lawsuits Continue Getting Filed
Lawyers continue to file Bard hernia mesh lawsuits. In a newly filed case in the MDL this week, a resident of Puerto Rico sues alleging his Ventralex ST Patch implanted in 2020 was defective.
May 1, 2024: Continued High Volume in MDL
The volume of new cases in the Bard hernia mesh class action MDL continues to be very high. 583 new cases were added to the Bard hernia mesh MDL during the month of April. That is more than the 481 new cases added last month and it brings the total number of pending cases up to 22,256.
April 23, 2024: Quiet Docket
There has not been a peep on the Bard MDL docket in the last 11 days. All I have for you is rumors expressing optimism. Nothing else.
April 1, 2024: Over 400 New Cases Added to Bard MDL
Over the past month, the Bard hernia mesh class action MDL saw an addition of 411 new cases, bringing the total number of pending cases to 21,673. This also signifies the highest monthly influx of new cases observed in the Bard MDL in the last six months.
March 27, 2924: Waiting on Mediation Results
Judge Sargus posted a entry into the docket that the mediation took place Monday. It continued yesterday. It will be interesting to see what his entry is for today. Everyone would love these case to settle. But, that said, we are not going to see average settlements in the $100,000 range under the and there could be some frustration for many victims who understandably do not fee the settlement fairly compensates them.
The guess here is that there will be another mediation announced today or sometime soon.
As of 8:14 p.m. there is no news. The judge may still post something tomorrow. I expected to see something last night. The lack of media interest or other interest in litigation that has over 20,000 people is perplexing, right?
March 1, 2024: MDL Adds 100 More Cases
There are now 21,262 total cases pending in the Bard hernia mesh class action MDL. Around 100 new cases were added to the MDL just last month. The size of the MDL continues to make a global settlement deal difficult.
February 20, 2024: Settlement Mediation Is On
In the never-ending saga of the polypropylene hernia mesh litigation, Judge Sargus scheduled a mediation scheduling order.
The judge’s order schedules a settlement mediation for March 4 and 5, 2024. The settlement will be in person. This step – presided over by the court-appointed mediator, John Jackson – is at a critical juncture in the proceedings. There are no more bellwethers. All we have left is a remand for trials all over the country. That said, the contours of the settlement dynamics appear largely the same as they were in November.
The order’s provision for a notification deadline by May 24, 2024, in the event of an impasse, followed by a June 24, 2024, deadline for submitting a joint proposal on how to proceed, reminds of the measured approach Judge Sargus has taken throughout this litigation.
There is real hope for this settlement mediation because it just feels like all of this has gone on long enough. Hernia mesh lawyers are tired and, more importantly, victims are tired. But this for this settlement mediation is tempered by the fact the dynamics at play remain too reminiscent of past negotiations. My fear, and I want to be proven wrong, is that without trial dates all over the country, Bard is not feeling enough pressure to get reasonable settlement amounts from it.
February 6, 2024: Fourth Bellwether Trial Is Off
The MDL judge cancelled the Byran trial coming up in April and is not replacing it and not remanding the cases for trial in their original jurisdictions. Instead, the court seems to be saying get these lawsuits settled.
The sentiment is great. But these cases have not settled with the pressure of trial dates. It hard to imagine they will settle without the pressure of trial dates.
February 1, 2023: 100 More Cases Added to MDL
Nearly 100 new cases were added to the C.R. Bard hernia mesh class action in the month of January. That brings the total number of pending cases up to 21,169.
January 15, 2024: 20,973 Cases in Bard MDL
As we head into the new, the C.R. Bard hernia mesh class action MDL has 20,973 pending cases. It is still the largest of the hernia mesh MDLs.
January 4, 2024: Plaintiffs Push for More Trials
We need more hernia mesh trials to get these cases settled. It has been too long. This litigation began in 2018. We have to turn the page in 2024.
The plaintiff’s hernia mesh lawyers believe there is a path. They have submitted a detailed memorandum to support their request for a new Case Management Order. This order is intended to set a roadmap for what should be done to speed this process up.
Strategy for Case Remand
The plaintiff’s mesh attorneys are not looking for the chaos that would come with sending all of these lawsuits home to their local federal courts. Instead, they suggest a phased approach, dealing with cases in large batches. The initial phase would include about 1,500 cases, representing a fraction of the total. They also propose a plan for which hernia mesh lawsuits to push forward. The selection criteria for these cases would be based on the severity of injuries, the duration since filing, and involvement in previous bellwether trials.
Efficiency and Justice in Trial Management
The proposal advocates for multi-plaintiff trials, which would be more efficient and cost-effective, avoiding repetitive testimony and allowing for shared trial expenses. The unspoken part? Trials with multiple plaintiffs also put more pressure on Bard.
So, keeping some of the structure the MDL provides, they propose that case-specific discovery should be managed under the current Court’s supervision to ensure that the cases are nearly ready for trial upon transfer to the remand courts. This plan is presented as a way to accelerate the delivery of justice for plaintiffs, ensuring that their cases are resolved in a timely manner. The judge has ordered the defendants to respond on January 10th. We should get a ruling, hopefully, by the end of the month.
December 18, 2023: Bard Hernia Mesh MDL Approaches 21,000 Cases
Back in October, the number of pending cases in the Bard hernia mesh MDL decreased for the first time ever. Since then, however, nearly 600 new cases have been added, bringing the total number of cases close to 21,000.
December 5, 2023: Georgia Settlement
Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon have reached a settlement in a Georgia multidistrict litigation that involves 224 cases. This settlement was confirmed through a joint motion to dismiss the claims, which was agreed upon by both parties and approved by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story. In response to the settlement, Ethicon Inc. underscored that it accepts no real responsibility, claiming that the decision was taken to prevent a drawn-out legal process. Of course, we are long past preventing a drawn-out process in any of these hernia mesh lawsuits.
This recent agreement comes on the heels of a similar settlement about six months earlier, in which the companies resolved claims with 161 plaintiffs in MDL-2782.
December 4, 2023: New Bard Lawsuit
Bard lawsuits keep coming. On Friday, the wife of a now-deceased Oklahoma man who had the Ventralight ST filed a lawsuit directly in MDL-2846. The lawsuit – which is not a wrongful death claim – makes the usual assertions of defective design, manufacturing defect and, most importantly, failure to warn.
This case was one of two Bard hernia mesh lawsuits filed Friday.
December 1, 2023: Next Bard Trial in April
The fourth bellwether trial in the Bard hernia mesh lawsuit series is scheduled for April 8, 2024. This trial centers on the case of Jacob Bryan from Florida, who experienced severe complications due to the Bard 3DMax hernia mesh. Bryan’s lawsuit contends that the mesh had design flaws that led to its failure, necessitating its surgical removal.
It is good to have a firm trial date. But these trials are so spaced out. A significant victory in a bellwether trial can provide leverage for plaintiffs in settlement negotiations. A lengthy gap before the next trial can diminish this leverage, as the immediacy and pressure on the defendant to settle can wane and they decide they have time to kick the settlement can down the road. There is still hope, however, for a global hernia mesh settlement before the Bryan trial.
November 17, 2023: MDL Adds 400 New Cases
Another 400 new cases were added to the Bard hernia mesh MDL over the last 30 days. There are now 20,768 plaintiffs in this hernia mesh MDL. Since the start of 2023, the Bard hernia mesh MDL has averaged over 300 new cases each month.
November 13, 2023: More Bellwether Trials Set
What is next in the hernia mesh lawsuits? Another trial. Scheduled for January 2024, the fourth/fifth bellwether trial involving Bard centers on plaintiff Jacob Bryan, who underwent a surgical procedure involving the use of a 3DMax hernia mesh for inguinal/groin hernia repair. Post-surgery, Mr. Bryan experienced severe complications, including mesh deformation and chronic pain, which have necessitated ongoing medical treatment and may lead to additional surgery.
Originally selected as a bellwether trial by the defendants years ago, there was an effort by them to remove Mr. Bryan’s trial date. Their argument centered on the premise that Mr. Bryan’s complications were more severe than initially expected, potentially skewing the representative nature of the bellwether trial. However, the motion to replace Mr. Bryan as a bellwether case was denied by the Judge Sargus.
The product at the center of this case, the 3DMax hernia mesh, is subject to similar allegations as other products in similar lawsuits. The plaintiff accuses Bard of failing to adequately warn both patients and healthcare providers about the significant risks and potential complications associated with the use of the 3DMax mesh. This includes not just an omission of known risks but also underrepresentation of the severity and frequency of possible adverse effects. Additionally, the lawsuit raises issues regarding the design and manufacturing of the 3DMax mesh. It is alleged that defects in the design and manufacturing process contributed to the complications suffered by patients like Mr. Bryan.
November 9, 2023: We got a verdict yesterday: $500,000.
The jury found for Bard on design defect but found for the plaintiff on the failure to warn case. All along, we have been saying this case is about failure to warn. This verdict underscores that belief.
No punitive damages were awarded.
Let’s recap the verdicts now:
Plaintiff Date Venue Award Johns July 2021 MDL $0 Milanesi April 2022 MDL $250,000 Trevino August 2022 Rhode Island $4,800,000 Stinson October 2023 MDL $500,000
November 8, 2023: On Day 14 of the Stinson bellwether hernia mesh trial, Bard called brought Dr. Stephen Badylak to the stand, a witness with a history of testifying for Bard in similar cases. In a move reflective of the parties confidence in a favorable outcome, both sides have jointly filed a motion advocating for the use of a single damages’ verdict form, a measure in accordance with Maine law. This is intended to minimize confusion among jurors and reduce the risk of potential appeals or retrials due to the issue of multiple recoveries for a single harm.November 1, 2023: Yesterday was entirely focused on Dr. Pomerants’ testimony, which included continued direct questioning, cross-examination, and then a redirect.
October 31, 2023: Plaintiff rested his case yesterday.
October 27, 2023: We said Dr. Grischkan was a key witness. All day yesterday was spend on his continued testimony.
October 26, 2023: Today is Day 9 of the Stinson trial. Yesterday, the plaintiff and David Grischkan provided testiomony. Dr. Grischkan is a board certified general surgeon who specializes in the repair of abdominal wall and inguinal hernias. He is a key plaintiff’s expert on specific causation.
Let’s take a second and recap the allegation in Stinson. The main argument from the Plaintiff is that Bard was aware of the risks associated with its PerFix Plug device but still promoted and sold it without properly warning doctors and patients.
What was the problem? Plaintiff design defect claim contends that the PerFix Plug breaks down after being implanted, leading to a prolonged inflammatory reaction in the body. So instead of putting a warning on the product giving doctors the information they need to do a risk/benefit analysis, Bard minimized the potential complications of the device, patients at an undue risk of severe and lasting harm.
Plaintiff’s lawyers also argue that this inflammatory reaction is exacerbated by poor design choices in the device’s shape, weight, and the size of its pores.
October 17, 2023: The size of the Bard hernia mesh MDL actually decreased over the last month from 20,405 to 20,369 pending cases. This is the first time ever that this class action MDL has posted a monthly decrease in pending cases. What does this mean? It is difficult to say until we see if the trend continues, but this could be a sign that we are running out of possible plaintiffs.
October 10, 2023: The third bellwether trial is upcoming in the case of Stinson v. Davol, et al. The plaintiff in the case underwent a right inguinal hernia repair in 2015, during which he had a Bard Per-Fix Mesh implanted. For 2 years after the surgery, the plaintiff had chronic pain in the area. In 2017, he underwent exploratory surgery to determine if it was a recurrent hernia or nerve entrapment causing the pain. During this procedure, the surgeon found that the Bard mesh implant had curled up into a ball, causing major scarring on the internal tissue. The mesh was removed and replaced, but the plaintiff continued to have pain.
October 2, 2023: The third bellwether test trial is set to be in 2 weeks in the Stinson case. We could see this case settle before the trial actually happens, but in the meantime, the lawyers for both sides certainly appear to be gearing up for trial. Bard has filed numerous pretrial motions over the last 2 weeks, including a significant motion filed on September 29th seeking to limit the testimony of one of the plaintiffs’ experts.
September 23, 2023: The federal judge overseeing all Covidien hernia mesh lawsuits across the federal court system has approved a proposal from the plaintiffs. This proposal involves the preparation of a set of six bellwether cases, with two trial cases to be selected in early 2025. This litigation has moved slowly and 2025 is still a long way way. But this is progress. Getting trial dates is the key to getting reasonable settlement offers.
There are 641 hernia mesh lawsuits in the Covident MDL class action lawsuuit. These lawsuits all contend that a faulty design in Covidien Parietex, Covidien Symbotex, and others, has led to unnecessary pain and suffering. In most of these cases, the plaintiff was required to get more surgery to fix the problems caused by the defect.
September 14, 2023: The pace of new cases in the Bard hernia mesh class action MDL has slowed somewhat this summer. There are currently 20,405 pending cases in the MDL. At the start of the summer there were 19,707 pending cases. 250 cases per month is still significant, but its way less than the monthly volume we were seeing in this class action earlier this year.
September 1, 2023: After a very long wait, it looks like the next bellwether test trial in the Bard hernia mesh MDL is finally going to happen. In a new Case Management Order issued yesterday, the MDL Judge confirmed that trial in the case of Stinson v. Davol, Inc., et al. (18-cv-1022) will begin on October 16, 2023. A fourth bellwether trial will be scheduled for early 2024 in the case of Bryan v. C.R. Bard Inc., et al. (18-cv-1440).
August 16, 2023: The Bard MDL has been frustratingly quiet in August. The MDL did add 191 new cases last month, increasing the total case count for the 3rd largest MDL in the country to added to 20,126 lawsuits.
August 10, 2023: The pivotal 3rd bellwether test trial is on track to begin on October 16, 2023 in the case of Stinson v. C.R. Bard, et al. (2:18-cv-01022). In preparation for that upcoming trial, the MDL Judge recently issued an Order setting last-minute discovery deadlines related to the plaintiff’s post-operative treatment last month. The order gives the parties until August 14, 2023, to complete supplemental fact depositions and until September 27 to finish additional expert depositions. The short time frame of these deadlines suggests that the judge is committed to going to trial in October without further delays.
July 18, 2023: As we inch closer to the long-anticipated 3rd bellwether trial, new hernia mesh lawsuits continue to get transferred into the C.R. Bard class action MDL. Over the last month, 228 new hernia mesh cases were added to the MDL. That brings the total number of pending cases up to 19,935, making MDL 2846 the 3rd biggest consolidated mass tort behind 3M earplugs and Talcum Powder.
July 15, 2023: No reasonable person can suggest that hernia mesh implants have not been wrought with controversy and complications. The FDA is trying to help guide patients and doctors about the benefits and risks of utilizing surgical mesh for hernia treatment. This week, it put out a new guide that offers a detailed overview of the pros and cons of surgical mesh.
July 7, 2023: Plaintiff’s lawyers withdrew its manufacturing defect claim in Stinson. This narrows down the issues for trial. These cases will always be focused on the failure to warn.
June 30, 2023: This litigation is now focused on Stinson, as you can see from most of the recent updates. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, making its usual arguments. Plaintiff has until Wednesday, June 14, 2023, to file a response.
June 23, 2023: The MDL judge in the Bard hernia mesh class action lawsuit rejected what was a ridiculous request by the defense to replace two of the lawsuits currently selected for future bellwether test trials. (See the June 4th update below.)
Bard’s defense team argued that the cases were “non longer representative” of other claims, but the motion was more likely motivated because Bard doesn’t think it can win at trial in the cases. Meanwhile, we await the 3rd bellwether trial in the Stinson case.
June 16, 2023: 231 new hernia mesh lawsuits were added to the Bard class action MDL over the last month, bringing the total number of pending cases up to 19,707. Since the start of the year, 1,480 new cases have been added to the MDL, an average of 247 per month.
June 13, 2023: Judge Sargus ruled that the mesh used in Aaron Stinson’s surgery did not come from the Puerto Rican factory and was manufactured four years later. So Stinson’s lawyer cannot present what the court says is unrelated evidence to establish a general pattern of unsafe conduct, as per federal rules of evidence. Stinson alleges that the PerFix Plug mesh caused scarring, subsequent surgery, and ongoing complications.
Is this a big deal? It is not. This is not a big part of the plaintiff’s case in Stinson.
June 4, 2023: We have been telling you that Stinson’s next bellwether trial is the best case yet for defendants. The first two bellwether trials were more challenging cases for plaintiffs, arguably not representative cases because of the weaknesses in those cases that came out throughout pretrial discovery.
Naturally, Bard now claims that Stinson’s case has evolved medically to the point where he no longer represents the majority of the claims for bellwether purposes. Their fear is another significant verdict will escalate the settlement amounts Bard will have to pay in a global settlement. Conveniently, it ties in nicely with Bard’s “delay, delay, delay” tactic: to hold on to their money as long as possible while hoping the endless delays force plaintiffs to take lower compensation payouts. If the judge agrees to delay Stinson, there would be more delay to get the next case ready for trial.
June 1, 2023: A state court judge in Rhode Island made an interesting ruling in the post-verdict motions in the Trevino case. Justice Richard A. Licht of the Providence Superior Court remitted $250,000 of a disfigurement award while leaving $4.55 million intact. It seems like an odd place to draw a line, right? More importantly, the ruling confirmed that Bard could be liable under Rhode Island’s warning requirements, and there was sufficient evidence to support the failure-to-warn claim.
May 11, 2023: One issue the court wants to address in the Stinson trial is whether, under Maine law, manufacturers of medical devices hold an ongoing responsibility to inform patients (via their doctors) about any risks associated with a medical device that has already been implanted, especially if these risks are identified after the device has been implanted.
The parties are instructed to provide additional briefing by May 17, 2023.
May 5, 2023: The third MDL bellwether trial date, Stinson v. C.R. Bard, has now been rescheduled. The new date for the trial is set for October 18, 2023.
May 1, 2023: Settlement talk remains in the air, but losing the trial date in Stinson did not expedite settlement efforts.
March 22, 2023: The highly anticipated third bellwether test trial (Stinson v. C.R. Bard et al.) in the C.R. Bard hernia mesh class action MDL is now rescheduled for October 16, 2023. The trial was supposed to begin next month, but the MDL Judge granted a request by the defense to push the trial back. The first bellwether trial yielded a defense verdict, and the second test trial resulted in a modest $250,000 verdict. But in August 2022, a hernia mesh trial in Rhode Island state court ended in a $4.8 million verdict.
March 20, 2023: The third bellwether trial in the C.R. Bard hernia mesh MDL has been postponed. The case of Stinson v. C.R. Bard was supposed to go to trial on May 15, 2023, where it would serve as the third test case. Last week, the MDL judge denied a summary judgment motion by the defense, clearing the way for the Stinson case to proceed. Two days later, however, the Judge granted Bard’s defense team a request to postpone the upcoming trial date. No new trial date has been set.
March 16, 2023: A Maine man’s lawsuit against C.R. Bard and Davol, alleging that a defective hernia mesh product caused him pain and complications, will proceed to trial for most of the claims.
This case, as we discuss in more detail in the updates below, is the third bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation involving over 18,000 cases against the two companies.
Typical hernia mesh lawsuit: The plaintiff argues that the polypropylene material used in the mesh is unsuitable for permanent implantation and results in complications. The judge ruled that the plaintiff could pursue his design defect claim at