Family Seeks Remand of Bard Hernia Mesh Wrongful Death Lawsuit, After Global Settlement Negotiations “Have Dragged”

Bard hernia mesh lawsuits pending in a federal MDL have been stayed for months, in anticipation of a global settlement agreement that has yet to come to fruition.

The surviving family members of a woman who allegedly died of injuries caused by a Bard Composis Kugel hernia patch are asking the U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Bard hernia mesh lawsuits to remand their case for trial, indicating that attempts to reach a global settlement in the MDL have dragged on for years.

C.R. Bard currently faces more than 21,000 separate product liability lawsuits, each involving similar allegations that users suffered painful and debilitating injuries caused by design defects associated with various polypropylene products sold in recent years, including the Bard Ventralight, Bard Ventralex, Bard Perfix Plug, Bard 3D Max and similar systems.

Since August 2018, the hernia mesh lawsuits have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus in the Southern District of Ohio, as part of a federal Bard hernia mesh multidistrict litigation, or MDL.

Following mixed results in three early bellwether test trials, which were held to help determine how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that may be repeated throughout the claims, Judge Sargus ordered the parties to meet with a mediator earlier this year, to conduct intensive Bard hernia mesh settlement talks before he considers returning large numbers of claims to various different U.S. District Courts nationwide for trial.

However, recent court records have shown no sign of progress, leading the family of Linda Luks to ask Judge Sargus to transfer their lawsuit back to the District of Arizona, where it was first filed more than five years ago.

Luks’ family filed a motion suggesting remand (PDF) on September 3, renewing a request that was first made in September 2021, due to the deteriorating health of Ms. Luks’ widower. While the original motion was rejected in February 2022, the order allowed the family to file again when they believed the situation had changed substantially.

According to this new motion, Luks’ husband is now 80 years old and fighting cancer, indicating that further delays in resolving the litigation may see him die before the Bard hernia mesh lawsuit is resolved. In addition, the family notes that general discovery in the MDL is complete and the Court canceled a fourth bellwether trial earlier this year, making it appropriate to now allow them to take their case before a jury.

“Plaintiffs’ leadership and Defendants are apparently attempting to negotiate a global deal to facilitate resolution and remand individual cases, but the negotiations have dragged,” the family’s motion states. “The MDL has exhausted its purpose as to this matter, and remand so that the parties in this matter can use the general discovery generated by the MDL to try this case in the District of Arizona is now appropriate.”

Judge Sargas previously directed the parties to notify the Court by May 2024, if an impasse in global settlement negotiations had been hit. However, that date has come and gone without any posted update on Bard hernia mesh settlement discussions.

In early July 2024, a stay was issued on all Bard hernia mesh lawsuits, suggesting that a global settlement agreement to resolve claims brought by individuals nationwide was near. However, no agreement has been announced and tens of thousands of individuals continue to await information about when they can pursue their claims before a jury.