BioZorb Injury Lawsuits Are Being Prepared For Trial in July 2025 in District of Massachusetts

Four lawsuits over BioZorb Marker will be selected for early bellwether trials, to help gauge how juries may respond to evidence that the tissue marker caused painful complications.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all BioZorb lawsuits pending in Massachusetts federal court has established a “bellwhether” plan, where a group of cases are being prepared for early trial dates beginning in July 2025, which are intended to gauge how juries may respond to evidence that the tissue marker was defectively designed.

BioZorb is a small device that is implanted into soft tissue, most commonly during breast cancer treatments, which consists of a biodegradable spacer made from polylactic acid, and six permanent titanium clips. The implant is designed to gradually break down and dissolve in the body, leaving only the clips in place to aid in the precise marking of areas where a tumor has been surgically removed.

Hologic Inc. has promoted the Biozorb markers as a safe and effective treatment option for breast cancer survivors, providing a critical guide for targeted radiation therapy to eliminate of any remaining cancer cells, while protecting the surrounding healthy tissue. However, a growing number of reports have been submitted to the manufacturer and FDA, involving painful Biozorb complications where the device moved, fractured or failed to absorb back into the body, often resulting in the need for surgical interventions.

As a result of these problems, a BioZorb recall was issued earlier this year, and a rapidly growing number of BioZorb injury lawsuits are now being pursued against the manufacturer.

To date, all of the lawsuits over BioZorb have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, where the manufacturer Hologic, Inc. is headquartered. To coordinate discovery and pretrial proceedings in that district, the cases have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs.

Earlier this year, Judge Burroughs issued a court order (PDF) outlining a “bellwether” plan designed to put a group of representative claims through case-specific discovery and trial preparations, involving allegations that are similar to those presented in other lawsuits.

Last month, parties were ordered to exchange a list of five cases to serve as potential bellwether cases, for a total of 10 cases in a Discovery Pool. Those BioZorb injury cases will go through depositions, exchange of medical records and other case-specific discovery, which must be completed by December 16, 2024.

After discovery is complete in the BioZorb bellwether lawsuits, each side will be able to strike three cases from the pool, leaving total of four BioZorb injury lawsuits that will be eligible to go before the first juries.

Following expert discovery on those cases, one will be chosen to be the first BioZorb trial, which is currently scheduled to begin in or around July 2025, the order indicates.

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