MDL Panel to Hear Oral Arguments for Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Consolidation This Week

Manufacturer has opposed Bard PowerPort lawsuit consolidation in an MDL, saying it has quickly resolved previous claims without the need for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) will hear oral arguments this week to determine whether all Bard PowerPort lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system should be consolidated before one judge for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

In recent months, there have been a growing number of product liability lawsuits filed in various different U.S. District Courts nationwide, each raising similar allegations that plaintiffs experienced complications from Bard PowerPort or similar Bard implantable port catheter systems, which are placed below the skin to provide easy access for the delivery of medications, such as chemotherapy.

The implanted ports consist of an injection site where a needle is inserted, as well as a polyurethane catheter tube that carries the drug into the blood vessel. However, plaintiffs allege that the Bard Ports were defectively designed and prone to fracture or fail, increasing the risk of infections, pulmonary embolism and other serious injuries.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in the claims, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion to establish a Bard PowerPort Lawsuit MDL in May 2023, asking the U.S. JPML to transfer all claims brought throughout the federal court system to one U.S. District Judge, as part of an effort to reduce duplicative discovery into common issues, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings and promote judicial efficiencies.

At the time the motion was filed, only about 10 port catheter lawsuits were pending against Bard nationwide. However, a steady number of new complaints have been brought in recent weeks, and it is widely expected that hundreds, if not thousands, of additional complaints may be filed in the coming months.

In complex product liability litigation, where large numbers of claims are brought by users of the same medical device or medication, each experiencing the same or similar injuries, it is common for the U.S. JPML to establish an MDL for pretrial proceedings and a series of early bellwether trials, which are designed to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

The manufacturer has opposed the creation of an MDL for the Bard PowerPort lawsuits, claiming that formal consolidation is unnecessary and that the litigation can be managed through less formal coordination efforts among the lawyers involved.

Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Consolidation Hearing

Last month, the MDL Panel announced it will consider oral arguments on Bard PowerPort lawsuit consolidation at a hearing scheduled for July 27 at the Phillip Burton U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco, California.

At the hearing, both sides will present their cases to the panel on whether the claims should, or should not be, consolidated before one judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

After the hearings, the panel will decide whether to establish an Bard PowerPort lawsuit MDL, and what is the most appropriate venue. Of the Bard PowerPort lawsuits pending at the time the motion was filed, claims were pending in five different U.S. District Courts, with six of the cases brought in the Western District of Missouri, where plaintiffs asked that the Bard PowerPort MDL be established. However, the defendants indicate that if the JPML does decide to centralize the claims, it should do so either in the District of Utah, where Bard Access Systems is headquartered, or the District of Arizona.

Even if an MDL is established, each individual claim may later be remanded back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for trial, if the parties fail to negotiate Bard PowerPort settlements or another resolution for the claims.