Bard Chemo Port Lawsuits Filed Over Fractures, Thrombosis, Infection and Other Complications Linked To Variety of Implanted Devices

With a rapidly growing number of Bard chemo port lawsuits already filed in the federal court system, plaintiffs’ attorneys have suggested that the manufacturer will likely soon face thousands of claims involving complications associated with the Bard PowerPort, and other implantable port catheter devices sold in recent years.

The Bard PowerPort and other similar products are officially known as a totally implantable vascular access device (TIVAD), which are used to deliver chemotherapy and other medications directly into the blood vessel. The device involves an injection port site, where a needle is inserted, as well as a polyurethane catheter tube that delivers the fluid to the body.

While the chemo port has been marketed as safe and effective by C.R. Bard and it’s Becton Dickinson parent company, at least 113 product liability lawsuits have been filed in recent months, according to new court filings, each raising similar allegations that the manufacturers knew or should have known that the Bard port catheter material is prone to degrade over time, allowing bacteria to develop or small pieces to break off.

As a result of the problems, users have developed devastating infections, blood clots and other complications after the port was implanted.

Given nearly identical allegations raised in complaints filed throughout the federal court system over the first half of last year, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decided to centralize all Bard chemo port lawsuits in August 2023, transferring the claims to U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell, in the District of Arizona, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings as part of a federal MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Over the past few months, Judge Campbell has been working with the parties to establish the organizational structure for the litigation, and begin a bellwether process, where a series of early trial dates can be scheduled to test allegations and evidence that will be presented throughout the litigation.

Bard Chemo Port Lawsuits Continue to be Filed

Ahead of a case management conference held last Friday, the parties filed a joint memorandum (PDF) indicating that there are currently 113 claims pending in the multidistrict litigation, including 45 that have been directly filed with the MDL court, and another 66 cases that were transferred to the MDL from various different U.S. District Courts nationwide.

The memorandum notes that plaintiffs report a variety of injuries, including:

• 44 claims of catheter-related infections;
• 19 claims of thrombosis or blood clots from the chemo port;
• 27 lawsuits involving port catheter fractures or migration of the device within patients’ bodies
• 9 involving chemo port fractures without migration; and
• Various other injuries in remaining complaints.

Plaintiffs lawyers have already told the manufacturer that they expect more than 2,000 Bard chemo port lawsuits may ultimately be filed in federal MDL or transferred to the District of Arizona for coordinated pretrial proceedings. However, many plaintiffs are still waiting on medical records or other supporting documentation needed to confirm which Bard PowerPort device was involved in their surgeries.

Among the complaints brought so far, plaintiffs have indicated complications were associated with at least 15 or 25 different Bard chemo port catheter products that have been included on a short form complaint established by the court, which include:

• BardPort M.R.I. Implantable Port
• BardPort M.R.I. Low-Profile Implantable Port
• BardPort Titanium Dome Implantable Port
• BardPort Titanium Implantable Port
• M.R.I. Plastic Dual Lumen Port
• M.R.I. Ultra SlimPort Implantable Port
• Peritoneal Titanium Port
• PowerFlow Implantable Pheresis IV Port
• PowerPort ClearVUE isp Implantable Port
• PowerPort ClearVUE Slim Implantable Port
• PowerPort due M.R.I. Implantable Port
• PowerPort Implantable Port
• PowerPort isp Implantable Port
• PowerPort ism M.R.I. Implantable Port
• PowerPort M.R.I. Implantable Port
• PowerPort Slim Implantable Port
• PowerPort VUE M.R.I. Implantable Port
• PowerPort VUE Titanium Implantable Port
• SlimPort Dual-Lumen Rosenblatt Implantable Port
• Titanium Low-Profile Port
• Titanium SlimPort Implantable Port
• Vaccess CT Low-Profile Titanium Power-Injectable Port
• Vaccess CT Power-Injectable Port
• X-Port isp M.R.I. Implantable Port
• X-Port Low-Profile Titanium Port

March 2024 Bard Chemo Port Lawsuit Update

Late last year, the parties were each directed to submit a list of 24 representative cases for inclusion in an initial Bard Power Port catheter lawsuit bellwether pool by July 1, 2024. However, the lawsuits must be filed by April 1, 2024 to be eligible for inclusion.

The combined total of 48 bellwether cases will then go through case-specific discovery and work up for trial, before later being reduced down to six claims that will be set for trial, to gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

Following discovery, the parties will attempt to agree on the final six bellwether claims by March 10, 2025, and it is widely expected that the first trials may begin by late 2025 or early 2026.

While the outcomes of these early bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other claims pending in the MDL, including claims filed after the April 1 deadline, they will likely have a major impact on Bard Power Port settlement negotiations and any attempt to resolve large numbers of claims.

The next case management conference is scheduled for March 29.