Court Appoints Bard Hernia Mesh Settlement Special Masters To Implement “Intensive” Process To Resolve Claims

Mediators will oversee, organize and manage a court-supervised program to settle Bard hernia mesh lawsuits that do not participate in a global settlement announced last month.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all Bard hernia mesh lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system has appointed two Special Masters to oversee the resolution of claims through an “Intensive Settlement Process,” which will provide financial compensation to individuals injured by defective surgical patches sold over the past few decades.

C.R. Bard has faced more than 21,000 product liability claims brought by individuals throughout the U.S., each involving similar allegations that painful and debilitating injuries were caused by design defects associated with various polypropylene hernia mesh products, including the Bard Ventralight, Bard Ventralex, Bard Perfix Plug, Bard 3D Max and similar systems.

After mixed results in a series of early bellwether test trials, which were held to help determine how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that was likely to be repeated throughout the litigation, the parties announced a global Bard hernia mesh settlement agreement in early October 2024, which is expected to resolve the vast majority of all claims over the next few years.

However, each individual claimant will have the opportunity to decide whether to settle their lawsuit through the global program, or opt-out and pursue a resolution through court-ordered mediation, before they will be able to present their case to a jury.

In a case management order (PDF) issued on November 21, U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus announced the appointments of Ellen K. Reisman and John Jackson, to serve as Special Masters in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) established for the management of all Bard hernia mesh lawsuits.

The experienced mediators will organize and manage a Court-supervised Intensive Settlement Process (ISP), which is intended to resolve claims that do not settle as part of the global agreement. These Special Masters will hold a series of mediation sessions and provide the court with a quarterly update on the progress of the ISP, which is expected to continue through at least mid-2029.

Following the initial Bard hernia mesh settlement payouts over the next few years, the Special Masters will begin holding monthly conference sessions starting in January 2027, to address cases where claimants opted out of the settlement, rejected previous offers or otherwise have not resolved their claims.

Lawyers representing the unresolved claimants will have the ability to select the Special Master for mediation, with costs split between the parties. Each side will be required to appear in-person at the conference sessions, with full settlement authority to resolve the case.

The Intensive Settlement Program will continue until the Special Masters certify to the court that there are no longer any additional unresolved claimants that need to participate in the process. Until that occurs, individual plaintiffs are unable to file any individual motions requesting that their case be set for trial.