Six Bard PowerPort Lawsuits Will Go Before Juries Between May 2026 and Feb. 2027

The trials will test allegations raised in more than 2,100 lawsuits being pursued against C.R. Bard, which claim that patients suffered severe injuries when defective PowerPort port catheters fractured or migrated out of position.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Bard PowerPort lawsuits has released a new schedule for six bellwether trials, which will take place throughout 2026 and early 2027, to help lawyers gauge how juries may respond to evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout thousands of product liability claims presented on behalf of individuals who received the port catheter system.

The Bard PowerPort is a totally implantable vascular access device (TIVAD) that is marketed to give physicians a safe and reliable way to deliver drugs directly into a patient’s bloodstream. It is typically used when repeated injections are expected, such as during chemotherapy. The system includes an injection port where the needle is inserted, which connects to a polyurethane catheter tube that carries medications into the body.

However, in recent years the PowerPort catheters have been linked to numerous implant failures, and more than 2,100 port catheter lawsuits have now been filed against the manufacturer, each raising similar allegations that the device’s design makes it prone to degrade inside the body. Each of the complaints raise similar allegations, indicating that patients were left with devastating catheter fractures and migration injuries.

Due to similar facts and law raised in the complaints brought throughout the federal court system, a Bard PowerPort MDL (multidistrict litigation) was established in July 2023, centralizing claims brought on behalf of individuals nationwide before U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell in the District of Arizona, for streamlined discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Early in the litigation, Judge Campbell ordered the parties to prepare for a series of “bellwether” trials that will provide lawyers the opportunity to test the strengths and weaknesses of the claims, and potentially promote settlement discussions to resolve the lawsuits.

Earlier this year, the Court selected six claims that are eligible for the first bellwether trials, which have been undergoing final preparations.

In a case management order (PDF) issued on November 14, Judge Campbell laid out the schedule for the bellwether trials, indicating that the first case will go before a jury on April 21, 2026, followed by trial dates on July 7, August 18, October 13, December 1, and February 2, 2027. The schedule sets the trials several weeks later than originally thought. The first trial, involving claims by Robert Cook of Minnesota, was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2026.

While the outcomes of these early bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other claims pending in the MDL or state courts, they will be closely watched by lawyers involved in the litigation. The average jury awards are expected to have a major impact on future Bard PowerPort lawsuit settlement negotiations.

However, if the bellwether trials do not result in a global agreement to settle Bard PowerPort lawsuits, Judge Campbell may begin remanding hundreds of individual claims to various U.S. District Courts nationwide for separate trials in the future.