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

C.R. Bard faces more than 2,100 claims alleging that the PowerPort port catheters are defectively designed, leading to catheter fractures and migration.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Bard PowerPort lawsuits has released a new trial schedule for six bellwether trials, which will take place throughout 2026 and early 2027.

The Bard PowerPort port catheter 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, which thousands of port catheter lawsuits now claim are caused by barium sulfate degradation that compromises the strength of the device.

To date, more than 2,100 Bard PowerPort lawsuits have been filed against C.R. Bard, each raising allegations that the implant’s defective design led to catheter fractures and migration injuries.

Due to similar facts and law raised in the complaints, a Bard PowerPort multidistrict litigation was established in July 2023 in the District of Arizona under U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to streamline discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Campbell has ordered the parties to prepare for a series of “bellwether” trials that will provide parties the opportunity to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

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 with the first trial scheduled for 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.