New Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits Continue To Be Filed Following Global Settlement

All claims brought after a global Bard hernia mesh settlement announced in October 2024 will need to meet strict requirements and deadlines.

At least two dozen new Bard hernia mesh lawsuits have been filed since a massive settlement was reached last year, which is expected to resolve tens of thousands of claims involving painful complications associated with polyethylene products sold over the past few decades.

While the global Bard hernia mesh settlement agreement has quickly cut down on the pace of new claims being brought, the overall size of the litigation has continued to slowly increase over the past six months, since the deal was announced.

Since 2018, C.R. Bard has faced more than 25,000 product liability lawsuits over alleged design defects associated with various different hernia mesh products, including the Bard Ventralight, Bard Ventralex, Bard Perfix Plug, Bard 3D Max and similar systems.

On October 2, 2025, the manufacturer announced a massive agreement to settle hernia mesh claims, with payouts expected over the next five to six years. However, there are still many individuals with defective Bard hernia mesh products implanted in their bodies, which have recently failed, or may fail in the future, which likely means new Bard hernia mesh lawsuits may continue to be filed for years.

According to a docket report (PDF) released by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on April 1, at least 30 new lawsuits have been added to the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits MDL (multidistrict litigation), since the deal was announced.  

For example, a Minnesota man, Nathaniel Bowman, filed a complaint (PDF) last month, indicating he received 3DMax Mesh and a PerFix Plug in 2010 and 2021, which led to the need for further surgical interventions. Another claim (PDF) filed on March 14, indicates that Alfred Hankins, of Mississippi, had to go through multiple surgeries after two Ventralex hernia mesh products failed in a row.

Each of the new Bard hernia mesh lawsuits are now centralized in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, where U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus has been overseeing the litigation for nearly seven years, including a number of early “bellwether” trials, which were intended to help the parties gauge how juries would respond to certain evidence and testimony that would be repeated throughout the claims.

Before the agreement to settle Bard hernia mesh lawsuits was announced, Judge Sargus imposed strict requirements and deadlines on any new claims brought after July 6, 2024, as well as any individuals who reject their offer through the global settlement agreement.

Among those requirements, the plaintiffs are required to file a certification under penalty of perjury regarding their ability to pursue the new claim under the applicable statute of limitations, produce early discovery documents and submit case-specific expert reports that establish their injury was caused by one or more Bard hernia mesh products.

Any plaintiffs who fail to comply with the strict deadlines will face dismissal of their claim, and the docket control measures are expected to significantly slow the pace of new Bard hernia mesh lawsuits that may now be brought.