Bard Ventrio Lawsuit Filed Over Hernia Mesh Infection

Design problems with the Bard Ventrio patch allegedly caused a Texas man to develop a hernia mesh infection years later, according to allegations raised in a recently filed product liability lawsuit, which alleges the product is unsafe and prone to fail. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Billy Edward Key, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on October 17, indicating that he suffered permanent damage, lost wages, emotional distress, significant pain and diminished quality of life due to complications from Bard Ventrio hernia mesh.

Key underwent ventral hernia repair in August 2010, at which time he was implanted with a 27.4 cm x 34.9 cm Ventrio Mesh patch, also known as an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or ePTFE Bard Mesh. About seven years later, Key required additional surgery to remove the hernia mesh, which had become infected. However, a week after that procedure he had to undergo repairs of an intestinal fistula linked to the mesh infection, and his surgeon realized that he would need additional surgery to implant yet another hernia mesh in his body.

The lawsuit indicates that the problem is with the mesh’s construction and the materials used.

“The polypropylene side of the ePTFE Bard mesh was intended to promote incorporation (scarring into the abdominal wall), while the ePTFE side was intended to prevent adhesion formation from the polypropylene being exposed to underlying organs,” the lawsuit explains. “However, the utilization of ePTFE results in the product being highly prone to infection, while the utilization of polypropylene results in the product being extremely difficult to remove once the ePTFE Bard Mesh becomes infected.”

Key’s case joins a growing number of similar hernia mesh lawsuits filed against C.R. Bard, each involving similar design defect claims associated with different polypropylene products introduced by the company in recent years.

Given similar questions of fact and law raised in dozens of other complaints brought throughout the federal court system, Key’s lawsuit will be centralized as part of a federal Bard hernia mesh MDL in the Southern District of Ohio, where one judge is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Similar centralized proceedings have already been established for Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuits and Atrium C-Qur mesh lawsuits, each of which already involve several hundred claims.

As lawyer continue to review and file cases in the coming months and years, it is ultimately expected that close to 10,000 hernia mesh lawsuits may eventually be filed against various different companies by individuals who received polypropylene products.