Port-a-Cath Lawsuit Alleges Power P.A.C. Break Down Resulted in Serious Port Catheter Infection

Lawsuits against other port-a-cath manufacturers, like AngioDynamics and C.R. Bard, continue to be prepared for early trial dates over claims of the devices’ defective designs.

An Indiana woman’s lawsuit claims that while undergoing chemotherapy treatment for metastatic cancer, she developed a serious infection from a failed ICU Medical Port-a-Cath port catheter.

Jacquline Hiatt filed the complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on March 26, naming ICU Medical Inc., the successor to Smiths Medical ASD Inc., as the defendant.

Port catheters are implanted medical devices designed to provide repeated access to a patient’s bloodstream for the delivery of medications and fluids, eliminating the need for frequent needle sticks. Commonly used during cancer treatment, they consist of a small port placed beneath the skin that is connected to a flexible catheter that delivers drugs directly into a vein.

In recent years, these devices have come under increased scrutiny due to reports of failures, infections, migration and fracturing, which may lead to serious complications such as sepsis, pulmonary embolism and death.

As a result, Hiatt’s claim joins similar complaints against other manufacturers arguing certain port-a-cath devices are defectively designed due to the use of barium sulfate in the catheter material. In many of these lawsuits, plaintiffs indicate this can lead to cracking and fracturing, allowing foreign and infectious materials to enter the device. 

They further allege the catheter can break, shift out of position, and release potentially dangerous debris into the bloodstream. These incidents often result in the need for additional medical treatment or surgery to remove the device, often while the patient is already battling the effects of cancer and chemotherapy.

Power P.A.C. Port-A-Cath Allegations

According to her lawsuit, Hiatt received her Port-A-Cath II Power P.A.C. in December 2023. The device was implanted for the delivery of palliative systemic chemotherapy due to metastatic anal cancer.

In early April 2024, Hiatt began to notice symptoms of infection around the port, including redness, swelling and tenderness. A CT scan confirmed soft tissue inflammation in her left upper chest wall next to the port-a-cath. The lawsuit indicates infectious disease experts were consulted. Hiatt was hospitalized, and the port was removed later that month.

The lawsuit indicates Hiatt required intravenous antibiotics for treatment. However, after the port-a-cath was removed, she showed significant improvement. Due to her continuing need for chemotherapy, another port catheter was implanted in late April 2024.

Hiatt’s complaint suggests the manufacturers knew about the risks of failure and infection, yet marketed the device as safe and effective, without warning the medical community or patients of the potential risk of port-a-cath complications.

“At the time of her operation, Plaintiff was not informed of, and had no knowledge of the complaints, known complications, and risks associated with Power P.A.C., including but not limited to the extent of seriousness of the danger of blood clots, fracture and infection.”

– Jacqueline Hiatt v. ICU Medical Inc. et al

She presents claims of negligence, failure to warn, design defect, breach of warranty and fraudulent concealment.

Port-A-Cath Lawsuits

Although claims involving ICU Medical’s port-a-cath devices are currently being pursued as individual lawsuits, similar allegations involving other port catheter systems have already led to large-scale litigation. Hundreds of AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits and thousands of Bard PowerPort lawsuits have been consolidated before federal judges for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

More than 300 AngioDynamics port-a-cath claims are consolidated in the Southern District of California as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) under U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta, who is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Ohta has ordered the parties to prepare to hold a series of early test “bellwether” trials, which are designed to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony that would be key factors in claims throughout the litigation. The parties are expected to turn in a list of 18 AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuit bellwether candidates by June 5, 2026.

Meanwhile, more than 3,000 similar port-a-cath lawsuits filed against Becton Dickinson and C.R. Bard over the Bard PowerPort are consolidated in the District of Arizona as part of a separate MDL under U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell, who is proceeding similarly to Judge Ohta.

Judge Campbell has had the parties preparing their bellwether test trials for months before selecting six Bard PowerPort lawsuits last year to be readied for trial. The first trial, involving claims by Robert Cook of Minnesota, is scheduled to begin on April 21, 2026. It will be followed by additional bellwether trials currently expected to begin on July 7, August 18, October 13, December 1, and February 2, 2027. 

While in both litigations, these bellwether test trials are non-binding on other claims, they will be closely watched to see what kinds of verdicts and payouts juries tend to hand down. These results could help the parties reach a port-a-cath lawsuit settlement.

However, if no settlement agreements are reached, the judges would begin remanding these cases back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.