Covidien Hernia Mesh Lawsuits Remain on Track for Feb. 2026 Trial Date

Covidien Hernia Mesh Lawsuits Remain on Track for Feb. 2026 Trial Date

A magistrate judge presiding over more than 1,700 Covidien hernia mesh lawsuits pending in the federal court system has granted a request by the parties for more time to conduct expert witness discovery and prepare key motions in a group of bellwether cases, but the extension will not result in any delay of the first trial date, which is still expected to begin on February 17, 2026.

The first Covidien mesh trial will involve claims brought by Larry and Tammy Patterson, an Alabama couple who alleges that a defective Symbotex mesh implant caused a bowel obstruction, requiring surgical removal in 2020. However, it is one of several bellwether cases currently being prepared for early trial dates in the federal court system.

The Covidien hernia mesh bellwether cases raise nearly identical allegations to those presented in other product liability lawsuits filed in recent years against Covidien and its parent company, Medtronic, indicating that various different polypropylene mesh products sold in recent years contained dangerous design defects, which caused individuals throughout the U.S. to experience painful and debilitating complications.

Is there a hernia mesh lawsuit? Find out if you qualify for a hernia mesh lawsuit settlement payout.
Is there a hernia mesh lawsuit? Find out if you qualify for a hernia mesh lawsuit settlement payout.

Given common questions of fact and law presented throughout the litigation, a Covidien hernia mesh lawsuit MDL (multidistrict litigation) was established in 2022, centralizing all of the federal hernia mesh lawsuits before U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris in the District of Massachusetts, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. 

Over the past three years, the parties have been conducting general fact discovery, and preparing a small group of representative cases for early trial dates, known as bellwether trials, which are expected to involve evidence and testimony similar to what could be repeated throughout hundreds of other future cases.

Parties Call for Bellwether Deadline Extensions

In April, the Court released a pretrial schedule establishing several key deadlines leading up to the first Covidien hernia mesh bellwether trial. However, on July 28, the parties submitted a joint motion for an extension (PDF) of 30 days on many of those deadlines.

“The Parties believe good cause exists for a short extension of the existing deadlines to allow sufficient time for the Parties to complete expert depositions and prepare related summary judgment and/or Daubert motions. This short extension will not affect the February 2026 trial date.”

Joint Motion for Extension of Dispositive and Expert Motion Deadlines

In a docket entry issued the next day, Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley approved the proposal, which pushes back the current close of expert discovery date, and sets a new deadline of September 8, 2025 for the parties to file dispositive and Daubert motions in the bellwether cases. Any oppositions to those motions are now due by October 13, with any further replies in support filed by October 27.

While the outcome of early mesh trials will not be binding on other plaintiffs, they will be closely watched to help the parties see how jurors may respond to a typical claim. Judge Saris hopes that the results of these trials will lead the parties to a Covidien hernia mesh settlement agreement, which will avoid the need for hundreds of individual cases to be set for trial.

After the bellwether trials have been completed, if no Covidien lawsuit settlement has been reached, then Judge Saris could begin remanding large numbers of cases back to their originating court for individual trial dates. There are also hundreds of additional lawsuits against Covidien pending in the Massachusetts state court system.


Written By: Irvin Jackson

Senior Legal Journalist & Contributing Editor

Irvin Jackson is a senior investigative reporter at AboutLawsuits.com with more than 30 years of experience covering mass tort litigation, environmental policy, and consumer safety. He previously served as Associate Editor at Inside the EPA and contributes original reporting on product liability lawsuits, regulatory failures, and nationwide litigation trends.




2 Comments


Randy
Well I feel like that I have really been taken for granted I’ve had two hernia mesh pro grip one on the left side one on the right side I have complications after 3 years the mesh gave me problems I was swollen on the right side with a lot of pain I went to my doctor and referred to a neurologist they didn’t know what the problem was so I went in for surgery and when they went inside of me they found a lot of scar tissue and the mash mesh was entangled on my spectrumatic cord that connects to my testicles the neurologist had never seen nothing like that before so he called it Chief surgeon and to have a look at it I have got lawyers to representing me for this case but I’m going to have to go back and have her third surgery for the pain in the complications in the the hurt that’s been put on me by that mesh so I’m in the 3029 mdl in Massachusetts waiting for the cases in February 2026 I have been dealing with pain and constipating taking laxatives and no pain medication was given to me by my doctor because he said it would make it work so I have to go in and make a decision if my testicle was going to be taken away from me because it’s floating around inside of me is got smaller diminished in size and more pain is getting worse and worser day by day hopefully I don’t die from this so if anybody’s having these complications with a pro grip mesh please go take care of it I will have to have a third surgery to remove the mesh and maybe my testicle too so hopefully everything goes right with the courts taking care of it these thousands of people that’s going through this which is a damn shame so only thing I can say to all the peoples is affected by this God bless you and don’t give up write your case and never give up because they have put something on the market that shouldn’t be in a side of our body it hasn’t even been approved by the FDA how can you get away with something like that God bless

Randy
Yeah my name is Randy I had two hernia mesh one on the left side and one on the right side the one on the right side swole up and complications of a lot of pain constipation that was in 2016 I went to my doctor with the complaints and he sent me to a neurologist they went inside of me and found that the mass entangled on my spectromatic cord which is attached to my testicle now my right testicle is not in the sack it’s floating all around and it has diminished I’m full of pain all the time I haven’t had sex in 6 years I’m constantly being constipated on laxative and pain is really really hurting me bad and I’m very scared the neurologist told me that I’m going to have to come in and have a third surgery I’m going to have to make a decision for them to either remove the mask and my testicle and I’m very scared because the pro grip mesh getting it out of me is like getting bubble gum out of your hair who wants to go through a surgery like that I’m very very scared I’m depressed and this situation needs to be taken care of so I don’t know what going to happen with me I have lawyers now and I’m in the 3029 mdl in Massachusetts so I’m waiting for the trials is coming up in February 2026 if anybody reads this be cautious of having any type of mesh put inside of you at this time I’m hoping that we can come to come situation settlement in it third surgery may God bless you

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