Bard Hernia Mesh Litigation Convenes June Status Conference

Published on July 23, 2019 by Sandy Liebhard

The federal court overseeing thousands of hernia mesh lawsuits filed against C.R. Bard, Inc. and its Davol, Inc. subsidiary convened the litigation’s most recent Status Conference on June 25^th.

According to a Pretrial Order issued two day’s later, there are now more than 2,700 cases undergoing coordinated pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.

Various matters were discussed during the conference, including the status of discovery and an update on pleadings. The Court also approved the Defendants’ Proposed Case Management Orders on Highly Confidential Documents and Protected Health Information. Both orders were entered on June 27^th.

Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

All of the lawsuits currently pending in the federal litigation were filed on behalf of individuals who suffered severe complications following implantation of Bard’s allegedly defective polypropylene hernia mesh implants, including, among others:

• Composix E/X Mesh
• Ventralex Hernia Mesh
• Composix Mesh
• Kugel Hernia Patch
• CK Parastomal Patch
• Modified Kugel Patch

Plaintiffs claim that the polypropylene plastic used in these devices is biologically incompatible with human tissue, leading to adhesion formation, organ damage, inflammatory responses, device failure, hernia recurrence, and the need for revision surgery.

Earlier this year, the Court selected 12 representative hernia mesh lawsuits to undergo case specific discovery in preparation for the litigation’s first bellwether trials. Those trials are scheduled to begin in May 2020, and could provide insight into how other juries might decide similar claim involving Bard’s polypropylene hernia mesh devices.

Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Litigation

C.R. Bard is not the only medical device maker facing legal action over polypropylene hernia implants.

Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon, Inc. subsidiary is defending thousands of hernia mesh lawsuits filed over its Physiomesh Flexible Composite mesh implants, including more than 2,200 claims that have been consolidated before a single judge in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia.

The company withdrew those devices from the global market in March 2016, after data from two European hernia registries suggested Physiomesh was associated with higher rates of hernia recurrence and revision compared to similar hernia mesh products.

An additional 1,452 hernia mesh lawsuits involving Atrium Medical Corp.’s C-Qur devices are also pending in New Hampshire federal court.