Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Settlement Compensation Payouts

August 5, 2026 – $88 Million Verdict

Covidien just took a serious hit in the first hernia mesh bellwether trial to reach a verdict. A Massachusetts federal jury awarded $88 million to a man who suffered a bowel obstruction after receiving the company’s Symbotex mesh. The verdict includes $77 million for the plaintiff and another $11 million for his wife.

The heart of the case was simple. Covidien allegedly told doctors that the mesh’s protective collagen barrier could last for as long as a month. The evidence showed that it largely dissolved within about a week. That is a very different risk profile when the purpose of the barrier is to keep the bare mesh away from internal organs.

The jury found that Covidien failed to adequately warn doctors. It did not award punitive damages, and the plaintiffs dropped their design-defect and warranty claims during trial.

Covidien argued that the complications were caused by the plaintiff’s other health problems and pointed to studies it says support the safety of Symbotex. The jury was not persuaded.

This is exactly why bellwether trials can change the game. More than 2,400 Covidien hernia mesh cases are pending (and probably 10,000 plaintiffs in total), and the company now knows what can happen when a jury sees the internal studies, hears from company scientists, and learns that surgeons may not have received the full story. Huge and well-deserved win. Covidien is challenging the verdict in post-trial motions, so this is not a final recovery.

July 28, 2026 – First Covidien Bellwether Trial Underway

The first bellwether trial in the Covidien hernia mesh MDL continues in federal court in Boston. The case involves a plaintiff who alleges that a Covidien Symbotex mesh implant failed, causing the mesh to adhere to internal organs and ultimately requiring revision surgery. The outcome of this trial will influence settlement negotiations.

July 1, 2026 – Case Counts for Both MDLs

The two largest hernia mesh MDLs continue to carry a large combined docket. The biggest remains the Bard/Davol polypropylene hernia mesh litigation in the Southern District of Ohio before Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. As of the latest MDL count, there are 23,382 active lawsuits in MDL No. 2846, with 25,181 total actions filed. That makes the Bard hernia mesh MDL one of the largest active product liability dockets in the country, even after years of litigation, bellwether trials, dismissals, and settlement activity.

The other major hernia mesh MDL is the Covidien hernia mesh litigation in the District of Massachusetts before Judge Patti B. Saris. That MDL, No. 3029, now has 2,425 active lawsuits. So, together, the two federal hernia mesh MDLs account for at least 25,807 active lawsuits. The Bard litigation is still the dominant hernia mesh docket by far, but the Covidien MDL is also building into a meaningful litigation, especially as plaintiffs continue to pursue claims involving alleged mesh failure, chronic pain, adhesions, infection, revision surgery, and other complications.

May 1, 2026 – Total Cases in MDL

There have been a few more cases added to the MDL in the last couple of months. We are now at 23,703.

March 2, 2026 – Case Counts

The center of gravity remains MDL 2846, In re Davol Inc. and C R Bard Polypropylene Hernia Mesh in the Southern District of Ohio. The docket is sitting at 23,695 actions pending as of March 2, 2026. The lion’s share of the Bard inventory is moving through a settlement framework, with a large volume of cases still parked on the docket while claim review, documentation, and payment administration grind forward. That is why the MDL can be “in settlement” and still show a towering pending count.

The second active hernia mesh MDL is MDL 3029, In re Covidien Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation No. II in the District of Massachusetts, with 2,348 actions pending. These cases are moving along, and plaintiffs’ attorneys are bullish on them as being “better than Bard.” The first Covidien bellwether trial that had been set for February 2026 was vacated by the court.

MDL 2753, In re Atrium Medical Corp C QUR Mesh in New Hampshire, shows just 220 actions pending on the JPML report.

February 25, 2026 – Where This Litigation Is Going

While most victims who agreed to the settlement are still waiting to get paid, some lawyers are still taking new cases. But it is not like the old days. The only cases that most attorneys are signing up for are especially strong cases.

Why? I think we can all agree this litigation did not go for the plaintiffs as hoped. Most people are accepting their settlement without much joy. A lot of people held their (electronic) pen for a minute before signing the agreement.

Now, for new plaintiffs, you need to name an expert for every single case when you file the lawsuit. This is a tough burden for a case that might be worth $70,000 and may not settle until after 2031.

On top of that, more cases will have statute of limitations issues as we go forward.

January 6, 2026 – Over 25,000 Cases

The Bard hernia mesh MDL continues to linger while still adding new claims. As of January 2026, there are 23,749 cases pending.

December 9, 2025 – 113 New Cases in December

The Bard hernia mesh MDL continues to persist—and expand. December saw 113 new filings, pushing the total number of pending claims to 23,818.

October 1, 2025 – Case Counts

Bard now has 24,004 lawsuits. This combines settled cases with opt-out claim. Once these settlements start getting processed, this number will drop dramatically.

The Covidien cases are continuing to heat up and there are now 2,152 cases as they head into their first trial in January.

September 22: We ARE Taking New Bard Claims

Not many lawyers are still taking these cases post-settlement. We are. If you want to bring a claim, we could be at the now or never point in terms of finding a lawyer.

If you want to talk to us about bringing a claim, call us at 800-553-8082 or submit an online contact form.

August 14, 2025 – Covidien MDL Trial Track

The Covidien MDL is now in a pressure cooker phase. Patterson v. Covidien, the first federal bellwether, is locked in for jury selection on February 17, 2026, with a pretrial conference in Boston scheduled for February 4. The joint pretrial memorandum is due January 27.

This timeline is aggressive, especially given the depositions and expert disclosures still in progress. The courtroom pressure is mounting just as state court dockets in Massachusetts and Minnesota gain momentum. Covidien now faces multi-front exposure, with the federal MDL and state cases coalescing into a unified litigation threat.

August 2, 2025 – Bard Settlement Fund Established

The settlement infrastructure is finally taking shape in the Bard MDL. Orion Settlement Solutions has been appointed to administer the qualified settlement fund for claimants. This means lien resolution, payment allocation, and individual awards are now inching closer to reality.

But, sadly, “closer” is doing a lot of work here. Realistically, many plaintiffs will still be waiting into 2026 or beyond for actual payments to land. This is the slow churn of mass settlement resolution in full view.

July 14, 2025 – Covidien MDL Case Volume Expands

The federal Covidien MDL now has just over 2,040 pending cases. That number alone is significant, but it only tells part of the story. Massachusetts state court is handling over 6,000 additional Covidien mesh cases, with another 500 pending in Minnesota.

A first trial in Massachusetts is scheduled for fall 2025. That state track might be where real pressure is applied if Covidien believes the federal MDL can be stalled through procedural maneuvering. But the convergence of these tracks suggests the company will not have the luxury of delay for long.

June 18, 2025 – Key Covidien Deposition Scheduled

A major deposition in the Covidien litigation is scheduled for July 17. The deponent is one of the original inventors of a disputed mesh product. Plaintiffs are betting this testimony will strengthen the core narrative of defective design and known risk. If the deposition delivers what plaintiffs hope, it could reshape the evidentiary posture ahead of the February bellwether.

June 1, 2025 – Bard MDL Sees Surge

The Bard MDL is still growing. We are now up to 25,015.

May 1, 2025 – Bard MDL Update

The Bard hernia mesh MDL in Ohio added 411 new cases this past month, bringing the total to 24,078. That is the biggest single-month increase in half a year—something you do not usually see after a global settlement.

April 11, 2025 – Covidien Bellwether Trial

The Covidien hernia mesh litigation is finally heading toward its first jury trial. On April 8, Judge Saris set a clear timetable for the first bellwether case in the federal MDL, with trial scheduled to begin on February 17, 2026. A pretrial conference will take place in Boston on February 4, and the joint pretrial memorandum is due January 27.

This case, if it actually goes to trial, will shape the future of the litigation. The plaintiff in this case claims the Covidien Symbotex mesh implanted in 2017 caused severe adhesions and bowel obstruction after the mesh’s protective collagen layer broke down prematurely. Patterson required a small bowel resection and further surgery to remove the device—exactly the type of failure at the core of many mesh claims.

This is more than just one trial. It is a test of jury perception, corporate exposure, and the viability of Covidien’s defenses. Recent settlement negotiations did not yield a resolution, but these early trials may finally move the needle. If no resolution follows the bellwethers, hundreds of cases could be remanded for trial across the country. The pressure is mounting on Covidien to come to the table.

April 4, 2025 – Update on MDLs

As of April 1, 2025, the Bard hernia mesh multidistrict litigation (MDL) had 24,080 pending cases—a decline from the total reported two months earlier. This reduction aligns with the ongoing settlement finalization process. In comparison, the Atrium hernia mesh MDL currently has 436 pending cases, while the Covidien hernia mesh MDL reports just over 1,700 cases still awaiting resolution.

February 20, 2025 – Settlement Talks Possible on Covidien

Mass tort litigation can take years to reach resolution, and the ongoing litigation involving Covidien mesh is no exception. Plaintiffs have been seeking justice for years. Now, the Covidien litigation appears to be reaching a crucial juncture. Both sides have agreed to extend the deadline for selecting a mediator to February 24, 2025, indicating that maybe—just maybe—settlement discussions are gaining traction. This extension provides additional time for negotiations on a neutral third-party mediator—a key step in determining whether a resolution can be reached without more protracted litigation and bellwether trial.

Past mass tort cases show that settlements often come after years of legal wrangling and just before the risks of trial become too great. This could be a pivotal moment in the Covidien litigation. If the pattern holds, now may be the best opportunity for resolution before the case proceeds to costly bellwether and risky trials. The Bard cases have settled. It is time for Covidien.

January 25, 2025 – How Many Will Take Quick Pay?

An “early pay” or “quick pay” option has been established to expedite settlements for claimants with straightforward cases. This option offers a fixed settlement amount of $25,000 to individuals who have experienced less severe injuries, such as those requiring only a single surgery. For cases where the Bard mesh was not conclusively identified as the cause of injuries, a smaller payment of $2,500 is available.

These claims pull down the average settlement payout in this litigation. The question is what will be the average settlement after these claims are paid?

The guess here is that more people take the early payout option than expected. Historically, MDLs have seen a higher-than-expected number of claimants opting for these early settlement options. This is attributed to several factors:

1. Financial Necessity: After enduring prolonged litigation, many plaintiffs face mounting medical bills and lost wages, making immediate compensation appealing.
2. Trust Issues: Extended legal battles can erode trust in the defendant’s willingness or ability to pay future settlements. In the Bard hernia mesh litigation, some plaintiffs may harbor doubts about the availability of funds in the future, prompting them to accept early settlements.
3. Desire for Closure: The emotional toll of ongoing litigation can lead plaintiffs to seek a swift resolution, even if it means accepting a lower compensation amount.

The result may be an average hernia mesh settlement for the more serious injury claims than many expect.

January 17, 2025 – Dealing With Medical Liens in the Bard MDL

How are liens going to be handled in the Bard settlement? Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel has Archer as the exclusive lien administrator to identify and resolve various liens or subrogation interests, including those related to Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare, and Veterans Affairs.

To facilitate this process, the court authorized the release of protected health information to Archer, ensuring compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Archer is required to maintain the confidentiality of this information and use it solely for lien resolution purposes. The order also specifies that any third parties assisting Archer must adhere to the same confidentiality standards.

January 8, 2025 – MDL Judge Considers Proposals for Bellwether Schedule

This week, attorneys for both sides submitted separate proposals to the MDL judge outlining plans for the Covidien bellwether trial process. The plaintiffs’ proposal suggests selecting a group of 16 cases by February, preparing them for trial, and beginning the first trial in September 2025. In contrast, the defendants’ proposal outlines a more complex case selection process, pushing the first bellwether trial to sometime in 2026. The MDL judge will now determine whether to adopt one of these proposals or establish her own schedule.

December 1, 2024 – Opting Out of the Hernia Mesh Settlement

We have been saying there will be opt-outs of the Bard hernia mesh settlement. How will that work?

The short answer we learned in Case Management Order No. 55 is that it will take a very long time. Mediations for opt-outs will not be until January 2027.

That seems like a long way. But if there is still no settlement, you cannot opt out and push for a trial scheduling until June 2029. So you might not see another trial for an opt out until 2030… or later.

For plaintiffs already grappling with health complications and financial hardships caused by defective hernia mesh products, these delays will likely feel like justice deferred—and most victims will understandably view this justice delayed as justice denied.

October 23, 2024 – Some Settlement Details

Some settlement details are coming out:

• The settlement program will take 3-4 years to administer, and payments will be made based on the order lawsuits were filed, meaning earlier cases will be paid first.
• A quick pay option offers a fixed settlement of $25,000 for claimants with straightforward cases (e.g., single surgery, less severe injuries). A smaller payment of $2,500 is available if Bard mesh was not deemed the cause of injuries. Otherwise, there is a more detailed process with potential higher payouts based on the severity of injuries. Payments will likely take 2-4 years to be distributed.
• There is the ability to opt-out of the settlement. But the form that will take remains to be seen.

October 14, 2024 – How Settlement Might Work

I don’t have any more details other than more rumor and speculation. So let’s talk generally how I think the Bard settlement will work.

If history is a guide, we will have a settlement points system in the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits to determine compensation amounts per person.

This system will assign points based on several factors, starting with the severity of injuries, such as chronic pain, mesh failure, or organ damage. More points will likely be awarded to plaintiffs who required multiple surgeries or suffered permanent disability. Other factors, such as lost wages, diminished earning capacity, or other objective factors of diminished quality of life should further increase the settlement point totals. Conversely, deductions will likely apply for complicating factors, such as pre-existing conditions.

The system will try—and inevitably fail—to get consistency in the numbers while properly accounting for individual variations, with higher settlements for more serious lawsuits. The reality is that an algorithm can never do this.

Again, I have been saying a per person average of $65,000 or $70,000 is my best guess. If you are a plaintiff, you are hoping as I suspect, that there are a lot of weak cases filed in the MDL. Why? Because that will push the average down meaning that cases where there was meaningful suffering will be higher than this average.

October 3, 2024 – Settlement Rumors

I’m hearing rumors of $65,000 average settlement and up to five years for payouts in some cases. The latter is not a unanimous sentiment.

October 2, 2024 – Bard Hernia Mesh Settlement

We have—finally—a Bard hernia mesh settlement. We do not know much except that it will resolve the “vast majority” of claims. The deal appears to have been strung out, at least for some plaintiffs, for years (“aggregate amount payable pursuant to this settlement is within the company’s current product litigation reserve for this matter and will be paid out over a multi-year period”).

We will have more information in the days and weeks to follow and will keep you posted on what we know.

October 1, 2024 – MDL Updates

In the past month, more than 100 new cases were added to the Bard hernia mesh class action MDL. Additionally, 41 cases were added to the Covidien MDL, raising its total number of cases to 1,511.

September 26, 2024 – Covidien MDL Progress; No News in Bard

The Covidien hernia mesh litigation is making significant headway, with nearly 1,500 lawsuits currently pending. Plaintiff attorneys have been busy deposing key witnesses from Covidien as part of a thorough discovery process aimed at uncovering critical evidence to strengthen their cases. Both parties remain actively engaged in this phase, with expert testimony expected to follow once fact discovery concludes later this year.

Most of your reading this are not Covidien plaintiffs but victims waiting on news of a Bard hernia mesh settlement. The Bard hernia mesh MDL is in a court ordered pause while settlement talks are ongoing. The palpable lack of momentum in the Bard litigation has left many feeling stranded. We’re still hopeful that Bard plaintiffs will soon have a clearer path forward and perhaps some long-awaited movement toward resolution. But you have heard that here before and you are understandably skeptical and frustrated.

September 17, 2024 – Judge Denies Motion to Remand

Yesterday, Judge Edmund Sargus denied a motion for remand filed by plaintiffs frustrated with the slow pace of settlement negotiations. The motion was denied without prejudice due to a limited stay in the case, as outlined in Case Management Orders 52 and 53, which restrict filings, including remand requests, apparently, during this period.

The decision was expected. You would have seen a flood of motions to remand if the motion was granted. But victims are growing tired of his holding pattern in the litigation and it is hard to blame them.

August 8, 2024 – New Bard Cases Still Getting Filed

Even as global settlement negotiations get closer to conclusion, new hernia mesh cases are still being filed in the Bard MDL. One of the most recent cases was filed by a man from Nevada. The complaint states that he had the Bard Ventralex Hernia Patch implanted back in 2010 and that complications caused by defects in that patch have resulted in subsequent corrective surgeries.

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 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 insufficient 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 19, 2024: Study on Robotic Hernia Repairs

A study published in JAMA Surgery this week found higher 10-year operative recurrence rates after robotic-assisted ventral hernia repair (13.4%) compared with laparoscopic repair (12.3%) or open repair (12.7%). The study examined Medicare claims and shows an association, not proof that a particular surgical approach caused an individual patient’s recurrence.

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.

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 Bryan 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 is hard to imagine they will settle without the pressure of trial dates.

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:

November 8, 2023: On Day 14 of the Stinson bellwether hernia mesh trial, Bard 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 spent on his continued testimony.

October 26, 2023: Today is Day 9 of the Stinson trial. Yesterday, the plaintiff and David Grischkan provided testimony. 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 29^th 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. But this is progress. Getting trial dates is the key to getting reasonable settlement offers.

There are 641 hernia mesh lawsuits in the Covidien MDL class action lawsuit. 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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 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 negligence law, and there was sufficient evidence to support the negligence 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.