BioZorb Attorneys Propose Leadership Structure for Lawsuits Over Recalled Tissue Marker

Eight plaintiffs’ attorneys have been recommended to serve in leadership positions for BioZorb tissue marker lawsuits being pursued by breast cancer survivors nationwide.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all BioZorb lawsuits pending in the federal court system has been asked to appoint a group of eight plaintiffs’ attorneys to serve in various leadership positions, who will take certain actions during coordinated pretrial litigation that benefit all breast cancer survivors pursuing claims over the recalled tissue marker.

There are currently more than 100 product liability lawsuits being pursued against Hologics, Inc., the makers of the BioZorb tissue marker, which has been used in breast cancer survivors and other individuals who require targeted radiation therapy. The small implant consists of a biodegradable spacer made from polylactic acid and six permanent titanium clips.

While the BioZorb is designed to gradually break down and dissolve in the body, leaving only the clips behind, women have complained for years about continuing pain, discomfort and problems with the device migrating out of position, protruding painfully through the skin, and failing to absorb properly, leading to a need for revision surgery to remove the device.

Late last year, Hologic announced a BioZorb recall, instructing medical providers to closely monitor any women with the device inside their body, and the size and scope of the litigation is expected to rapidly grow in the coming months, as women discover that complications experienced with the breast tissue marker may be the result of a dangerous and defective design.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in each of the complaints, the litigation has been centralized before Judge Allison D. Burroughs in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, where the manufacturer’s headquarters are located, for coordinated pretrial proceedings and a series of early test trials.

In a motion (PDF) filed on February 27, a group of plaintiffs’ attorneys involved in the litigation proposed a leadership structure, to take actions that benefit all women pursuing lawsuits over a recalled BioZorb marker.

The attorneys appointed to serve in various leadership roles in the litigation will conduct pretrial discovery into common issues in the cases, examine witnesses, introduce evidence and serve as spokespersons for all plaintiffs during the pretrial proceedings. However, each individual plaintiff will still maintain their own BioZorb attorney to establish that their specific injuries were caused by the breast tissue marker, and negotiate potential settlements.

The proposal recommends that the Court appointment eight attorneys to various leadership positions, including two co-lead counsel and a six-member Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee that includes two co-chairs for bellwether proceedings, a chair of discovery, a science and experts chair, and two co-chairs of law and motions.

Plaintiffs indicate that the defendants do not oppose the motion. However, the leadership plan must still be approved by Judge Burroughs.

BioZorb March 2025 Lawsuits Update

The motion comes as the parties are continuing to prepare a small group of early BioZorb lawsuits for a “bellwether” process, which will start going to trial later this year to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

In July 2024, Judge Burroughs directed each side to designate five cases for a Discovery Pool, which have been going through depositions and other case-specific discovery over the past nine months.

Late last year, the parties whittled that list down to four bellwether trial candidates, and Judge Burroughs announced that the first BioZorb lawsuit bellwether trial will begin on September 8, 2025, with a second trial set to begin on January 20, 2026.

While the outcome of these early trial dates will not have any impact on other claims being pursued against the manufacturer, the average BioZorb lawsuit payouts awarded by juries are likely to have a substantial impact on negotiations needed to avoid each claim ultimately being set for trial in the future.