Judge To Meet With Bard Hernia Mesh Lawyers As Settlement Talks and Preparations Continue For 2023 Trial Date

A third Bard hernia mesh lawsuit will go to trial in late February 2023, lasting about four weeks, unless settlement talks result in agreements to resolve thousands of claims pending nationwide

  • Nearly 18,000 Bard hernia mesh lawsuits are pending in federal courts
  • Bellwether trials are scheduled to begin in Feb and May 2023 to help parties gauge how juries will respond to certain evidence that will be repeated throughout the claims
  • Bard hernia mesh settlement master was appointed to work with parties in advance of trials
  • Lawyers continue to investigate and file new claims for individuals who may be eligible for a Bard hernia mesh lawsuit payout
  • FIND OUT IF YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR A BARD HERNIA MESH SETTLEMENT

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal hernia mesh lawsuits involving Bard products will meet with lawyers involved in the litigation next week, as preparations continue for a third and fourth bellwether trial, which are expected to have a big impact on ongoing settlement talks to resolve thousands of claims.

There are currently nearly 18,000 product liability lawsuits pending in a Bard hernia mesh MDL (multidistrict litigation), which is centralized before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. in the Southern District of Ohio, involving allegations that plaintiffs suffered painful complications due to design defects associated with certain polypropylene mesh products sold in recent years, including Bard Ventralex, Bard Ventralight, Bard Perfix, Bard 3DMax and other systems.

While the parties did make some progress last year negotiating Bard hernia mesh settlements to resolve some state court claims in Rhode Island, following mixed results in the first two federal trials held before Judge Sargus, preparations have resumed for a third and fourth bellwether trial, which will be closely watched to provide additional information about how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the claims.

However, as the litigation moves forward, Bard hernia mesh lawyers continue to file new lawsuits on behalf of individuals who learn that their hernia mesh failed, and the number of claims pending throughout the federal court system has more than doubled from just over 8,000 claims in June 2021, to 17,954 lawsuits pending according to a November 2022 update (PDF) issued by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML).

Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

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Hernia mesh lawsuits are being filed against Bard, Atrium, Covidien and several other hernia mesh manufacturers over mesh failures resulting in injuries and additional surgery.

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Bellwether Trials May Influence Bard Hernia Mesh Settlement Talks

Although the results of early bellwether trials are not binding on claims brought by other plaintiffs, they are being closely watched by Bard hernia mesh lawyers involved in the litigation.

The first two early trials held in the Bard hernia mesh MDL produced mixed results, with the manufacturer securing a defense verdict in the first trial in August 2021, and getting hit with a $255k verdict in a second trial that ended in April 2022. However, there are two additional cases scheduled to go before juries next year.

In Rhode Island state court, one Bard hernia mesh lawsuit resulted in a $4.8 million verdict in August 2022, sending a clear signal to the manufacturer about the extent of liability it may face if settlements are not reached and thousands of individual claims go before juries nationwide.

In a case management order (PDF) issued on November 9, Judge Sargus outlined the pre-trial schedule leading up to the third bellwether trial, which is set to go before a jury in February 2023.

The order indicates the trial will start on February 21, 2023 and will last for four weeks, with four trial days in the first and third week, and five trial days in the second and fourth week. The order also calls for parties to give the Court a revised proposed scheduling order for the fourth bellwether trial, in order to reflect date changes and other topics discussed at a case management conference held on November 4.

These topics are likely to be discussed when Judge Sargus meets with defense counsel and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee at a case management conference to be held via GoToMeeting on November 21.

November 2022 Bard Hernia Mesh Settlement Update

Although individual agreements have been reached with some lawyers to settle Bard hernia mesh lawsuits pending in Rhode Island state court, not all of those claims have been resolved, and no global settlement has been reached to allow each individual impacted by the products to receive a lawsuit payout as of November 2022.

Following the next Bard hernia mesh bellwether trial in February 2023, the fourth case is currently scheduled to begin in May 2023.

In advance of those bellwether trials, Judge Sargus appointed a Bard hernia mesh settlement master in August 2022, to work with the parties and attempt to facilitate talks that may result in individual offers being available for each individual who has experienced complications from the polypropylene hernia mesh products.

In addition claims against Bard, thousands of similar claims have been filed in recent years against manufacturers of other polypropylene mesh products that have resulted in widespread injuries, including more than 3,600 Ethicon Physiomesh lawsuits and 3,335 Atrium C-Qur lawsuits that were centralized in separate MDLs, and lawyers involved in each of those proceedings have reached hernia mesh settlements shortly before scheduled bellwether trials were set to begin.

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FIND OUT IF YOU QUALIFY FOR A HERNIA MESH SETTLEMENT

Lawyers provide free consultations and claim evaluations to help individuals determine if they may be eligible for a hernia mesh lawsuit payout for complications experienced with a product manufactured by Bard or another company.

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9 Comments

  • NicoleOctober 15, 2023 at 3:40 am

    Been going through this since 2013 I had 13 surgeries Within a year and a half and develop Mercer which I will have to live with for the rest of my life I have a scar that I have to take care of a lot of scar tissue that hurts like crazy I have another hernia that I’m free to take care of because I got PTSD from having a 13 surgeries it’s been horrible and I’m only 44 and I was extremely active wi[Show More]Been going through this since 2013 I had 13 surgeries Within a year and a half and develop Mercer which I will have to live with for the rest of my life I have a scar that I have to take care of a lot of scar tissue that hurts like crazy I have another hernia that I’m free to take care of because I got PTSD from having a 13 surgeries it’s been horrible and I’m only 44 and I was extremely active with children in a daycare and I feel like my life has been turned upside down it’s horrible

  • MarkFebruary 8, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    They need to make bard settle and end this we have been waiting long enough with covid and postponements enough is enough let's end it now

  • JoyceeDecember 21, 2022 at 11:54 pm

    I’ve been waiting 6 years and still nothing. I almost died and reconstruction surgery and still I’m going to suffer the rest of my life?

  • MichaelDecember 19, 2022 at 3:42 pm

    Another postponement to may 2023, as if covid did not delay things enough. Sad to say, I beat colon cancer, back in 2006 just to end up being beaten down by a piece of plastic that was put in me in 2011 and nothing but struggle ever since. They took out the first mesh in 2016 and put in another that has just made things worse. They had to go back in, on July 9th 2021 to cut out some more colon and[Show More]Another postponement to may 2023, as if covid did not delay things enough. Sad to say, I beat colon cancer, back in 2006 just to end up being beaten down by a piece of plastic that was put in me in 2011 and nothing but struggle ever since. They took out the first mesh in 2016 and put in another that has just made things worse. They had to go back in, on July 9th 2021 to cut out some more colon and small bowel. The doctor got in there and had to cut through the mesh and scar tissue and adhesions, at which time the doctor had no idea he had caused internal bleeding and closed me. 12 hours later back in surgery to fix the bleed, and at that time I crashed (blood pressure, temp, they had to pack my abdomen and left it open till my body could recuperate. Doctor says the can't get the mesh out now, said it would leave a big whole. I have ended up on disability and not able to do anything. Thanks a lot Bard. "BEAT CANCER JUST TO BE TAKEN OUT BY MESH."

  • RobertDecember 18, 2022 at 9:02 pm

    I too have been suffering and waiting for these bellwethers to conclude and hoping a settlement can be reached that is fair to all those affected. I have had 5 total surgeries r/t my bilateral inguinal hernias. The surgeon used Bard hernia mesh with the polypropalien in the first 2 surgies and one failed immediately and I had to get a revision within a month. then approx. 3 months later the one on[Show More]I too have been suffering and waiting for these bellwethers to conclude and hoping a settlement can be reached that is fair to all those affected. I have had 5 total surgeries r/t my bilateral inguinal hernias. The surgeon used Bard hernia mesh with the polypropalien in the first 2 surgies and one failed immediately and I had to get a revision within a month. then approx. 3 months later the one on the other side failed . the consequences of these surgeries were severe pain debilitating me to the point I could not work and believe me I tried repeatedly. I ended up homeless not being able to pay my rent. I lived in a tent in the woods. every aspect of my life was affected. Not having insurance and unsure if even wanted to have two more surgies because at this point I still had 2 hernias and I was in worse shape than ever. So another two years went by while I was praying for a settlement . Still hasny happened. I did manage to get insurance and had revisions on both sides in Nov of 2021. Im still bothered by pain, numbness, and other issues Id rather not discuss. Its a shame that it has taken this long for the individuals affected to have not got relief. I think its safe to say there have probably been numerous individuals who have died while this process has slowly gone thru court procedings. Their last days were probably miserable. Lets hope a settlement is reached or they lose so badly in February with a multimillion dollar verdict that Bard has no choice but to settle. All affected are in my prayers.

  • HarryDecember 17, 2022 at 3:50 pm

    5 years and waiting

  • MichaelDecember 17, 2022 at 1:06 pm

    I've been waiting 6 years now and I two have been threw 2 surgery's too ! I been pretty sore since the 2nd and keep getting bowl impactments and that sucks to have a hose stuck in your nose for three days .Hope this would get settled soon.

  • DAVEDecember 15, 2022 at 8:11 am

    I have been waiting for 4 years now to get some financial relief because of 2 surgeries to fix the failed mesh. Now with another postponement of the 3rd trial until May it really is apparent that the federal judge is doing everything he can to protect Bard from being held responsible for their actions. This sucks. 4 years and nothing

  • BrianDecember 12, 2022 at 7:39 pm

    I have been going through this for many many years now and it’s destroyed my life can’t work I can’t do anything had the second operation and they had to close me up saying that it was so bad inside me if they touched it it could’ve made me even worse than I am now this stuff is nothing but destroyed my whole life had a good business was making very good money and now this I’ve been in line for a [Show More]I have been going through this for many many years now and it’s destroyed my life can’t work I can’t do anything had the second operation and they had to close me up saying that it was so bad inside me if they touched it it could’ve made me even worse than I am now this stuff is nothing but destroyed my whole life had a good business was making very good money and now this I’ve been in line for a long time. The doctor said it was so bad he had to abort the second operation because he did not want to hurt me they need to get up and get doing stuff about this because it’s destroyed a lot of peoples lives. it’s a shame that they want to head and put all the stuff in to people knowing it was bad and it’s destroyed a lot of peoples lives I just want what’s fair. I couldn’t even tell them half of the stuff that I’ve gone through in and out of the hospital back-and-forth to the emergency room. it’s just too bad that I had to go through my 30s in my 40s dealing with this stuff which took a lot of my life away from me and I deserve to be cops forget it for it and what it’s done to my family and what it’s done to me healthwise I will fight this right to the end.

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