Covidien Parietex Optimized Composite (PCOx) Hernia Mesh Lawsuits To Be Prepared for Trial

One of the two claims will be chosen to serve as the third in a series of planned Covidien hernia mesh bellwether trials in the federal MDL.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all Covidien hernia mesh lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system has announced that the parties have selected two lawsuits specifically involving injuries linked to the Parietex Optimized Composite (PCOx) mesh to be prepared for early test trials as part of an ongoing bellwether process designed to help resolve claims brought by hundreds of individuals.

Covidien and its parent company, Medtronic, currently face more than 1,800 product liability lawsuits over its various hernia implants, including the Covidien Parietex, Covidien Symbotex and other mesh products. Each claim involves similar allegations that plaintiffs experienced painful and debilitating complications due to various defects in their design and manufacture.

To help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the claims, U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris has established a bellwether program where several small groups of cases are currently being prepared to go before juries over the next few years.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in complaints brought in U.S. District Courts nationwide, a Covidien mesh lawsuit MDL (multidistrict litigation) was established in 2022, centralizing the claims in the District of Massachusetts, where Judge Saris has been presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings designed to help promote eventual settlement negotiations.

Two trials have already been scheduled to take place in February 2026 and July 2026, involving lawsuits over complications with Covidien Symbotex mesh.

On April 22, the parties submitted a joint notice (PDF) selecting two Covidien Parietex Optimized Composite (PCOx) mesh lawsuits that will be prepared for a third trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

One of the lawsuits involves an amended complaint filed by Michael Wardell (PDF) of Georgia late last month, who received the implant in March 2017. The lawsuit indicates problems with the PCOx led to the need for surgical intervention. The other lawsuit was filed by Maria Baisden (PDF) in July 2024, also originally brought in Georgia, and involving very similar circumstances.

On May 5, Judge Saris responded with a case management order (PDF) setting up a schedule for fact and expert discovery for the two cases. The order calls for plaintiff fact sheets to be completed and submitted by May 22, completion of fact discovery by October 17, 2025, completion of expert discovery by February 9, 2026, and an April 6, 2026 deadline for filing Daubert and dispositive motions.

The order does not set a trial date.

While the outcome of these bellwether trials will not be binding on other plaintiffs, Judge Saris hopes that the results of these trials will lead the parties to a Covidien 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 mesh lawsuit settlement has been reached, then it is likely that Judge Saris would remand the 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.