Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Lawsuit Over Ethylene Oxide Exposure Results in $20M Verdict Against C.R. Bard

Judge has ordered a new trial focusing on punitive damages, after one juror admitted they simply followed the decisions of others.

A Georgia jury awarded $20 million in compensatory damages last week to a man who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma following his exposure to ethylene oxide from a nearby C.R. Bard facility, but a federal judge has declared a mistrial on the issue of punitive damages, which are intended to punish the company for reckless disregard for public safety.

The trial involved claims brought by Gary Walker, who says he developed cancer due to regular exposure to ethylene oxide from a C.R. Bard medical device sterilization facility in Covington, Georgia. The lawsuit indicated Walker not only delivered pallets of medical supplies to the plant for processing but has also lived near the facility since 1991.

Ethylene oxide is a gas used in the sterilization process of some hard-to-clean medical devices, such as those made of metal or glass, or which have multiple layers and small crevices. However, inhalation of the gas can cause lung, throat, eye and nose irritation, and has been linked to increased cancer risks and may cause brain and nervous system damage.

Concerns about environmental risks associated with exposure to the gas began to emerge after a series of ethylene oxide leaks in 2019, at facilities operated in Illinois, Michigan and Georgia by Sterigenics, another medical sterilization company.

Those facilities were shut down temporarily to address the leaks, but multiple lawsuits were subsequently filed over health risks from exposure to the toxic gas. Last November, the medical device sterilization company Steris also announced it is currently facing hundreds of ethylene oxide exposure lawsuits in the U.S.

The verdict in Walker’s case was handed down last Friday, awarding him $20 million in compensatory damages. Then, less than a week later, the jury announced another $50 million in punitive damages. However, one of the jurors indicated they just deferred to the rest of the jurors, but did not agree with the verdict, leading Georgia state Judge Emily Brantley to declare a mistrial on the issue of punitive damages.

Judge Brantley has indicated she intends to hold a retrial solely on the issue of how much C.R. Bard should be required to pay for recklessly disregarding the health and safety of area residents. In the state of Georgia, the ability to levy punitive damages against a defendant relies heavily on whether the jury decides there was intent to do harm. If not, the punitive damages are subjected to caps, which juries are never told about in their calculations.

Ethylene Oxide Safety Standards Updated

In recent years, there have been several high-profile ethylene oxide leaks from sterilization facilities throughout the U.S., leading to widespread exposure to the chemical for those working or living nearby.

In 2023, Sterigenics settled similar claims brought following leaks at facilities in Illinois, Georgia and Michigan. Plaintiffs indicated they developed breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other ailments, resulting in a $408 million settlement agreement.

To address growing concerns, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued new ethylene oxide standards in March 2024 for the 90 commercial sterilization facilities in the U.S. The new rules are as follows:

• Establish standards for unregulated emissions and chamber exhaust vents
• Strengthen standards for sterilization chamber vents and aeration room vents
• Require continuous air emissions monitoring and quarterly reporting for commercial sterilization plants
• Ensure sterilizers are subject to emission standards during startup, shutdown and malfunction

Since there are safer alternatives available to clean medical equipment, experts have also been calling for the healthcare industry to move away from the use of ethylene oxide. However, it is still used to sterilize about half of the medical equipment made in the U.S.