Bard PowerPort Settlement Talks May Heat Up as First Bellwether Trials Approach in 2026

Before thousands of claims were consolidated in a federal MDL, Becton Dickinson indicated that it was reaching individual Bard PowerPort injury resolutions in an average of about 18 months after lawsuits were filed.

With the first bellwether trials expected to get underway in the Bard PowerPort litigation in April 2026, there is increasing speculation that settlement discussions could intensify over the next few months, to avoid the presentation of evidence that dangerous design defects caused users to experience port catheter fractures, migration and infection injuries.

The Bard PowerPort is a totally implantable vascular access device (TIVAD), which has been commonly used in cancer treatment and other long-term therapies, allowing patients to receive chemotherapy, medications or other infusions through a catheter connected to a port placed beneath the skin.

To make the catheter visible on imaging scans, Bard incorporated barium sulfate into the material, a design choice that has since been called into question, amid allegations that it can weaken the catheter and increase the risk of devastating injuries.

According to lawsuits filed nationwide since 2023, the PowerPort catheter may become brittle and prone to cracking, fissuring or fracturing once implanted. When failures occur, plaintiffs allege the catheter can break free and migrate through the bloodstream, leading to serious complications such as deep vein thrombosis, embolism, infections, organ perforation, cardiac injuries, and in some cases, death.

After a growing number of similar lawsuits raised overlapping questions of fact and law, the federal cases were centralized for coordinated pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, where the Bard PowerPort MDL is overseen by Judge David G. Campbell.

As of early January, at least 2,545 claims are now pending in the MDL, with additional Bard PowerPort lawsuits continuing to be filed each month. However, the first claim has not yet gone before a jury.

PowerPort Settlements Cited Before MDL Consolidation

To help the parties gauge the relative strengths and weaknesses of their claims, as well as the average Bard PowerPort lawsuit verdicts that juries may return, Judge Campbell has directed the parties to prepare a small group of representative claims for early trial dates, which are scheduled to begin on April 21, July 7, October 13 and December 1, 2026, as well as February 2, 2027.

As the start of the first trial gets closer, prior statements by the manufacturers early in the litigation are drawing renewed attention and speculation over whether it will allow evidence to be presented in open court.

When the application was submitted to consolidate and centralize all Bard PowerPort lawsuits into an MDL, Becton Dickinson filed a response in opposition, indicating that formal coordination was unnecessary, since it had been successfully resolving claims on an individual basis.

In the memorandum (PDF), which was filed in June 2023, the manufacturers indicated that they had previously resolved 11 other Bard implantable port lawsuits within the prior five years, with timeframes ranging from one to 31 months after the claims were first filed. The filing indicates that the Bard PowerPort settlements or resolutions were reached in an average of approximately 18 months, with only one case requiring depositions and none going before a jury.

According to the filing, many of those claims involved allegations similar to those now pending in the MDL. Plaintiffs alleged that the radiopaque agent barium sulfate can weaken the catheter when it is not properly encapsulated or separated from the catheter surface, increasing the risk of fractures and related complications.

As the size and scope of the litigation grew rapidly after mid-2023, more patients learned their injuries may be linked to design defects in the port catheters, prompting the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to conclude that an MDL was appropriate to coordinate the cases.

There are now more than 2,500 lawsuits centralized before Judge Campbell, and lawyers are all closely watching the bellwether trials, to help determine how juries may respond to the evidence and expert testimony that will be repeated throughout thousands of claims.

While the outcome of these early bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other claims, even a small number of plaintiff verdicts could increase the financial exposure faced by the manufacturer, and further increase public awareness about the potential design defects at issue in the lawsuits.

Upcoming Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Trials

Last year, Judge Campbell selected six Bard PowerPort lawsuits that will proceed through the bellwether process, with a lawsuit filed by Robert Cook set to be the first that will go before a jury.

Cook alleges he was implanted with a Bard PowerPort in September 2023, to facilitate chemotherapy for rectal cancer. However, less than a month later doctors determined the catheter had become infected, requiring intravenous antibiotic treatment.

Like other plaintiffs, Cook claims the manufacturers were aware of catheter design problems but failed to adequately warn physicians, patients and regulators about the risks associated with fracture, migration and infection.

The Cook bellwether trial is expected to run into early May 2026.

Bard PowerPort Lawyers Still Reviewing New Cases

If you or a loved one were injured by an implantable catheter port, submit information about your potential claim for review by a product liability lawyer to determine whether you may be entitled to compensation through a Bard PowerPort lawsuit.

Lawyers are investigating cases for individuals who received a PowerPort or other type of implantable port catheter and suffered any of the following injuries:

• Infections (sepsis or septic shock)
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Hemorrhaging or bleeding injuries
• Cardiac/pericardial tamponade
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Severe and persistent pain
• Perforations of tissues, vessels and organs
• Patient death
• Other injuries caused by fractured PowerPort catheter

Bard PowerPort injury lawyers provide free case evaluations and there are never any fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained in your case.