Bard Hernia Mesh Settlement Master Appointed In Advance of Next MDL Trials in Feb. and May 2023

An agreement to globally settle Bard hernia mesh lawsuits may help avoid the need for several thousand cases to be remanded back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for future trials.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Bard hernia mesh lawsuits has appointed a settlement master to work with the parties and help facilitate negotiations that may resolve the litigation without the need for thousands of individual cases to be set for trial.

There are currently more than 16,800 product liability lawsuits filed against C.R. Bard in the federal court system, each involving allegations that plaintiffs suffered painful complications due to design defects associated with certain polypropylene hernia repair mesh products, including Bard Ventralex, Bard Ventralight, Bard Perfix, Bard 3DMax and other systems.

As Bard hernia mesh products continue to fail and result in the need for additional surgery or treatment, the number of new lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system has more than doubled over the past year, rising from just over 8,000 claims that were pending in June 2021, and the size of the litigation is expected to continue to increase.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in the complaints, the federal cases were centralized as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in 2018, which has been pending before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. in the Southern District of Ohio, for coordinated discovery and a series of early bellwether trials, which are designed to help the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony which will be repeated throughout the cases.

Following two early trials with mixed results, Judge Sargus scheduled additional cases to go before juries in February 2023 and May 2023, but is now taking steps to guide the parties toward a potential Bard hernia mesh settlement in the litigation.

Settlement Master Appointed To Facilitate Negotiatons

In a case management order (PDF) issued on August 17, Judge Sargus announced that John Jackson has been appointed as settlement master in the litigation, to work with the parties to discuss whether an agreement can be reached to settle Bard hernia mesh lawsuits without the need for individual trial dates in each case.

“The settlement master will facilitate discussions among and between the parties as he deems necessary, appropriate and as directed by the Court, will provide status reports to the Court on a frequent and timely basis,” according to the order. “The settlement master shall have the power and authority to engage in ex parte communications with all parties, counsel, and the Court.”

In the event Bard hernia mesh settlements are not reached in the coming months, at least two additional “bellwether” trials will be held in the MDL next year.

In another case management order (PDF) issued on August 17, Judge Sargus scheduled two additional cases to go before federal juries on February 23, 2023 and May 15, 2023.

While these early trial dates will not have any binding impact on other claims, they will be closely watched and may help the parties gauge the relative strengths and weaknesses of their claims.

In addition to the federal lawsuits, Bard also faces thousands of similar hernia mesh lawsuits in coordinated litigation in Rhode Island state court, where the company has reached agreements to settle some cases. However, a state court trial is currently underway in Rhode Island, which will also provide useful information that may influence federal settlement negotiations.

If the company fails to settle Bard hernia mesh claims or otherwise resolve the litigation during the MDL proceedings, it is expected that Judge Sargus will start requiring the parties to prepare large waves of claims for remand back to U.S. District Courts nationwide next year.