Lawsuits Over Bard Power Port Catheters Filed By April 1 May Be Eligible For First Six Bellwether Trials in MDL

The outcome of the early bellwether test trials could impact the average Bard Power Port lawsuit settlement amounts the manufacturer may need to pay to avoid hundreds of claims being remanded for individual trials.

Individuals have about two months remaining to file a Bard Power Port catheter lawsuit, if they want it to be considered for inclusion in a bellwether pool, from which the first six cases will ultimately be selected for early trial dates in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL).

The Bard Power Port is a totally implantable vascular access device (TIVAD), which is used to deliver chemotherapy and other medications directly into the blood vessel. The device involves an injection port site, where a needle is inserted, as well as a polyurethane catheter tube that delivers the fluid to the body.

While the port catheter has been marketed as safe and effective by C.R. Bard and it’s Becton Dickinson parent company, dozens of product liability lawsuits have been filed in recent months, each raising similar allegations that the manufacturers knew or should have known that the Bard Power Port material is prone to degrade over time, allowing bacteria to develop or small pieces to break off. As a result of the problems, users have developed devastating infections, blood clots and other complications after the port was implanted.

Given nearly identical allegations raised in complaints filed throughout the federal court system over the first half of last year, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decided to centralize all Bard Power Port lawsuits in August 2023, transferring the claims to U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell, in the District of Arizona, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings as part of a federal MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Over the past few months, Judge Campbell has been working with the parties to establish the organizational structure for the litigation, and begin a bellwether process, where a series of early trial dates can be scheduled to test allegations and evidence that will be presented throughout the litigation.

Bard Power Port Catheter Bellwether Lawsuit Deadline

Late last year, the parties were each directed to submit a list of 24 representative cases for inclusion in an initial Bard Power Port catheter lawsuit bellwether pool by July 1, 2024. However, lawsuits must be filed by April 1, 2024 to be eligible for inclusion.

The combined total of 48 bellwether cases will then go through case-specific discovery and work up for trial, before later being reduced down to six claims that will be set for trial, to gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

Following discovery, the parties will attempt to agree on the final six bellwether claims by March 10, 2025, and it is widely expected that the first trials may begin by late 2025 or early 2026.

While the outcomes of these early bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other claims pending in the MDL, including claims filed after the April 1 deadline, they will likely have a major impact on Bard Power Port settlement negotiations and any attempt to resolve large numbers of claims.

“The Court does not intend to try more than 6 bellwether cases in this MDL,” Judge Campbell wrote in a prior case management order, suggesting that the Court will begin returning large numbers of claims back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trials if the parties are unable to reach a settlement or other resolution for the litigation after bellwether trials.