First Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Heads to Trial in 2020

Published on November 29, 2018 by Sandy Liebhard

The federal court overseeing hundreds of hernia mesh lawsuits involving C.R. Bard Inc.’s polypropylene implants has laid the groundwork for the litigation’s first bellwether trials.

According to an Order issued in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio on November 20^th, the multidistrict litigation will convene three trials in 2020.

The first bellwether trial is tentatively set to begin on May 8^th of that year. Additional lawsuits will head to trial on July 13, 2020 and September 14, 2020.

Because they are bellwether cases, verdicts in these trials could provide insight as to how future juries might rule in similar claims.

Parties to Select Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuit for Discovery and Bellwether Trial Pools

Additionally, the Court will establish a Discovery Pool consisting of 12 representative hernia mesh cases. On January 31, 2019, Plaintiffs and Defense Counsel will each submit a list of 6 case selections for inclusion in the pool.

Once Core-Fact Discovery concludes, the Court will establish a Bellwether Trial Pool consisting of 6 hernia mesh lawsuits chosen from the Discovery Pool. Subsequently, the Order indicates that the parties will submit lists of 3 cases on July 13, 2019

Finally, the Court plans to announce three bellwether trial selections on February 14, 2020.

Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits Mount, as Pending Claims Exceed 200

At least 209 hernia mesh lawsuits are pending in the multidistrict litigation currently underway in the Southern District of Ohio. That’s up from 171 cases reported by the Court in October.

Plaintiffs named in these complaints allegedly suffered serious and painful complications following implantation of polypropylene hernia mesh devices manufactured by Bard and its Davol, Inc. subsidiary.

Some of these hernia mesh products include: Composix E/X Mesh, Ventralex Hernia Mesh, Composix Mesh, Kugel Hernia Patch, CK Parastomal Patch, and the Modified Kugel Patch.

Among other things, plaintiffs assert that the polypropylene used in Bard’s implants is defective and biologically incompatible with human tissue. As a result, the devices place recipients at increased risk for adhesions, organ damage, inflammatory responses, hernia mesh failure, hernia recurrence, and other debilitating injuries.