Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Against C.R. Bard (2023)

C.R. Bard is defending over 18,000 hernia mesh lawsuits alleging that its mesh devices were defective and resulted in injuries and complications for thousands of hernia surgery patients. Our hernia mesh lawyers are handling these claims in all 50 states.

This post will provide news and updates on the hernia mesh lawsuit against C.R. Bard and the current status of the Bard hernia mesh class-action MDL after the $4.8 million C.R. Bard verdict in Rhode Island state court. This landmark verdict will have a meaningful impact on victims’ settlement payouts in the hernia mesh litigation.

If you have a potential claim, call a hernia mesh attorney – preferably us, but any qualified lawyer – today. Because the statute of limitations imposes a deadline to sue for a defective hernia mesh is not a deadline you can miss. You can reach us at 800-553-8082.

Hernia Mesh Lawsuit News and Updates

Before we get to the nuts and bolts of the various class action hernia mesh lawsuit against Bard, let’s start with what most of you are coming to the website for – to get the latest news and updates in the hernia mesh litigation.

March 15, 2023 Update

The Stinson trial is locked the loaded for May 15th. Plaintiff’s lawyers fought off a motion to dismiss and C.R. Bard and Davol will face most of the claims in a lawsuit filed by a Maine man who alleged that a flawed hernia mesh product caused him pain and other complications.

The suit is scheduled to be the third – we call it the fourth – bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation, which has over 18,000 cases pending against the two companies.

Plaintiff alleges that the polypropylene used in the mesh isn’t suitable for permanent implantation and leads to complications. The judge not only allowed the plaintiff to take his design defect claim to go forward, but he is also allowing the plaintiff to claim punitive damages. The court also cleared negligence and warranty claims for trial but granted judgment for the companies on other claims.

February 9, 2023 Update

In an Order issued earlier this week, the Bard MDL judge set forth a detailed schedule for the third hernia mesh bellwether test trial (Stinson v. C.R. Bard et al.). Pretrial conferences will be held on May 2nd and 3rd and the trial itself will begin on May 15, 2023. Final witness lists are due from both sides this month. The judge also requires lawyers for all parties to submit proposed dates for a 4th bellwether trial later in the year.

January 27, 2023 Update

This is not an update, but we wrote a status of the hernia mesh lawsuits page yesterday, looking at where we are and what the settlement prospects are in 2023.

January 18, 2023 Update

18,403 Bard mesh lawsuits are pending in the hernia mesh class action. That is an increase of 176 cases over the last 30 days, the most significant percentage increase of any mass tort MDL during that period. This high volume of new cases in this MDL has continued for several months as we get closer to the next bellwether trial in May.

January 2, 2022 Update

Rhode Island state court – the venue for the big Trevino verdict – is continuing to pile up new hernia mesh lawsuits. Twenty-three new suits against Bard were filed in Rhode Island since Christmas.

December 18, 2022 Update

As hernia mesh settlement rumors continue to swirl, the C.R. Bard hernia mesh MDL adds new cases as we slowly inch closer to a pivotal 3rd bellwether trial in May 2023 (recently postponed from February).

The class action lawsuit added 273 new hernia mesh cases to the MDL over the past month, increasing the total pending Bard mesh lawsuits to 18,227. The Bard hernia mesh MDL grew by 23% in 2022, adding 3,380 cases.

It is still the second largest mass tort behind only the 3M earplugs MDL.

November 17, 2022 Update

Another 166 new hernia mesh injury cases were added to the C.R. Bard class action MDL over the last month. At the beginning of the year, there were just over 15,000 plaintiffs in the MDL, which is now up to 17,954 and growing. The continued growth in pending cases should help keep the settlement pressure on Bard’s parent company, Beckton Dickson. If we get a solid verdict for the plaintiff in the upcoming bellwether trial in February, we could potentially be talking about a global settlement deal before June.

November 1, 2022 Update

The MDL judge in the Bard Hernia Mesh litigation issued an order confirming the pre-trial and trial schedule for the upcoming 3rd bellwether test trial Stinson v. C.R. Bard et al. The trial will commence on February 21, 2023. Each side will get 35 hours of trial time, giving us a trial of about three weeks. Final Daubert motions are due by October 7, 2022.

This trial puts real pressure on the upcoming settlement talks. Bard does not want to take another multi-million dollar verdict as it did in Trevino.

The conventional wisdom is that Stinson is also a strong case with the possibility of another larger jury payout.

September 5, 2022 Update

One of the issues that got flushed out during the Trevino trial is that C.R. Bard used a plastic resin in its mesh products even after the plastic supplier told Bard it was not safe for that use.

This was no great revelation. But the plaintiff’s lawyers developed this issue well during the trial.

C.R. Bard used a plastic made by LyondellBasell called Pro-fax 6523 in all its hernia mesh products because it was the cheapest available material that met specifications.

Bard did this although LyondellBasell deemed Pro-fax 6523 unfit for permanent implantation inside the body and expressly prohibited buyers from using it in hernia mesh products.

That C.R. Bard knowingly ignored this is a new revelation that could swing the momentum in the C.R. Bard class action lawsuit.

August 29, 2022 Update

We have a verdict from Rhode Island: $4.8 million. Paul Trevino’s lawsuit alleged that C.R. Bard’s Ventralex hernia patch eroded into his bowel because they chose the materials they used based on price instead of safety. The jury agreed, finding both that the design was defective and that Bard to failed to warn of the risk. I’ve been saying all along I have no idea why Bard let this case go to trial. But the settlement value of Bard hernia mesh cases just went up.

August 26, 2022 Update

We could have a Rhode Island state court verdict today in a Bard Ventralex patch case, Trevino v. Bard …. stay tuned.

In Trevino, the plaintiff claims that the defendants knew or should have known that the PET ring, a component of the Ventralex Mesh, was prone to breaking or buckling, thereby increasing the risk of severe, permanent injuries. Despite these risks, the defendants intended for their product to be implanted for the purposes and in the manner that the plaintiff and her implanting physician used it.

August 24, 2022 Update

Do we finally have a hernia mesh settlement breakthrough? Maybe.

The big news is Judge Sargus appointed a “settlement master” to help facilitate global settlement negotiations between Bard and the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Why is this a big deal? In prior mass tort MDLs, the appointment of a settlement mediator has been a precursor to a final settlement. In addition to appointing the settlement master, the class action judge kept the pressure on everyone by finalizing dates for two additional bellwether trials for February 2023 and May 2023.

July 8, 2022 Update

C.R. Bard is still pushing for a docket control order in the hernia mesh MDL. Meanwhile, the tide of incoming new hernia mesh lawsuits filed against Bard across the country continues. Within the last week, ten new hernia mesh cases have been added to the MDL from the District of Rhode Island (4) and the District of Minnesota (6).

June 20, 2022 Update

The plaintiffs in the C.R. Bard hernia mesh MDL-2846 filed a strong response last week in opposition to the defense motion asking the MDL judge for a docket control order.

In their opposition, the plaintiffs characterize the defense motion as an inappropriate effort to get “de facto summary judgment.” They claim that the relief sought by the defendants is unprecedented and would be overly burdensome to future plaintiffs.

On Friday, the defendants filed a reply in support of their motion downplaying the burden that the docket control measures would have. We should get a decision on the motion within the next few weeks.

June 14, 2022 Update

Plaintiff Antonio Milanesi filed a response to C.R. Bard’s post-verdict motion for JMOL. The response from Milanesi correctly points out that the arguments made in Bard’s current JMOL are the same arguments that the Court has previously rejected on two occasions (Summary Judgment and pre-verdict JMOL).

The response also contends that the plaintiffs did satisfy the standard of proof for product defect under Florida law with competent expert testimony regarding the problems with the Ventralex mesh.

May 26, 2022 Update

The big question we are getting from hernia mesh victims is when will the Stinton case, the third bellwether mesh lawsuit, will go to trial? The trial date has yet to be set, but our hernia mesh lawyers believe the trial is likely to go in October if a new trial is not granted in Milanesi.

Stinson, a plaintiffs’ pick for trial, involves the extra-large PerFix Plug device used to repair inguinal hernias. Mr. Stinson claims difficulty with urination, weight gain, an impaired sex life, and nerve entrapment.

Stinson Could Trigger Hernia Mesh Settlement

This trial could trigger Bard to offer reasonable settlement amounts for the entire class action. Bard knows this is a good case. It unsuccessfully filed a motion to replace Stinson as the third bellwether because it was not a “representative” case in the class.

Bard is smart enough to fear Stinson’s bellwether effect, so we may see a Bard hernia mesh settlement before this lawsuit goes to trial.

May 24, 2022 Update

I was excited when Antonio Milanesi won the second bellwether hernia mesh trial. But not entirely satisfied. The verdict of $255,000 was ridiculous in light of Mr. Milanesi’s suffering.

Lawyers on both sides have filed post-verdict motions challenging the trial’s outcome. The defendants filed a Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, claiming that the plaintiffs failed to establish the elements for causation or design defect under applicable Florida law.

Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Seek New Trial on Damages Only

The plaintiffs’ hernia mesh lawyer filed a Motion for a New Trial on Damages. The legal argument is that the trial judge failed to adequately explain to the jury that the defense had the burden of proof on mitigating damages. The likely scenario for the low jury payout is the jury blamed the surgeon who did the initial procedure. Plaintiff’s attorney is seeking the dream scenario: a new trial on damages only.

Both sides are due to file responses tomorrow.

May 23, 2022 Update

As of May 16, the C.R. Bard MDL-2846 has 18,803 active cases. The second bellwether trial resulting in a $250,000 verdict, ended over a month ago. But hernia mesh lawyers still don’t have a date for the next bellwether trial, and only three new cases have been added this month.

Frustratingly, there still needs to be a date for the third bellwether hernia mesh trial. There is hope Bard offers reasonable settlement amounts. But there is nothing concrete. We will update you when there is a development.

May 3, 2022 Update

Hernia mesh victims have been visiting this page for the latest hernia mesh news and updates over the last few weeks have come up empty. Not much is happening. We will get another trial date at some point but that has not happened. Our lawyers expect a trial date in October 2022 for the third bellwether, but the exact date has not been set.

The Johnson & Johnson Ethicon Physiomesh hernia mesh lawsuits have been settled. This might have some impact on the Bard lawsuits. But, on another level, the Bard hernia mesh claims are very different from the Physiomesh claims. The biggest difference? When a product is recalled, like the Physiomesh, it makes settlement much easier.

April 16, 2022 Hernia Mesh Trial Verdict

VERDICT: $250,000 to Mr. Milanesi; $5,000 to his wife. Plaintiff won on his defective design count; Ms. Milanesi brought a loss of consortium claim. A more significant verdict would have been nice. But suppose each plaintiff in this litigation were to receive a $255,000 settlement. In that case, Bard is paying $4 billion to resolve every hernia mesh lawsuit filed in the federal class action. And many hernia mesh lawsuits allege injuries far more grave than Mr. Milanesi’s.

Was the Verdict in Milanesi Too Low?

From our conversation with the victims, there is understandable disappointment in the verdict’s size. You will see the same if you wade into the comments below. But you have to understand that the bellwether impact is more about whether you win or lose than the verdict’s size.

Unique Facts of Milanesi on Damages

Notably, Bard blamed the original surgeon for choosing a large Ventralight. It may well be the verdict was less because the jury believed that some of the responsibility for the plaintiff’s injuries rested with that surgeon. Looking at this verdict from that lens is more encouraging because Bard will not have the “blame the doctor” defense in most cases. So do not assume that the same jury would have awarded $255,000 in your case. (Update: the Trevino verdict in August 2022 proves this point. Both Milanesi and Trevino have similar suffering. Yet Milanesi gets $225,000 and Trevino receives $4.8 million.)

Hernia Mesh Settlement Amounts Should Reflect Reality

But the size of the jury’s payout probably tells us something we already knew. Some of these claims will be a close call for juries. Plaintiffs will win and lose hernia mesh suits at trial, at least in Becton Dickinson/C.R. Bard/Davol mesh lawsuits. The parties will eventually fashion settlement amounts around that reality.

• You can get a more detailed update on this hernia mesh lawsuit and the details on the witnesses that have testified

April 14, 2022 Mesh Trial Update

This is the day hernia mesh victims have been waiting for. The defendants have rested their case in the Milanesi trial in Ohio. The jury deliberated for two-and-a-half hours yesterday after closing statements. The jury is set to resume deliberations in 15 minutes. We will likely… get a verdict today in this crucial hernia mesh lawsuit.

As of 3:06 p.m., we have no verdict. The jury has posed two questions to the judge so far.

No verdict today.

April 1, 2022 Mesh Trial Update

The hernia mesh trial is moving along slowly. Seven witnesses have testified in the first nine days. Apparently, Bard’s defense lawyers missed Trial Advocacy 101, where future attorneys learn to make their best points on cross-examination quickly and get out. Dr. Krpata could have confessed to shooting JFK by the end of his second day of testimony, and no one would have noticed. The first four days of trial are over and only two witnesses have testified, one by videotape – Davol’s (Bard subdivision) president.

The trial is set to last three weeks, but our hernia mesh lawyers predict it will extend beyond next Friday.

March 22, 2022 Mesh Trial Update

The Milanesi trial began yesterday. Not much has happened other than the selection of the jurors who will hear this hernia mesh lawsuit.

March 9, 2022 Mesh Lawsuit Update

We are less than two weeks away from the Milanesi case that was reset for trial on March 21, 2022. All the energy in this litigation is going into that trial from attorneys on both sides. I don’t get the feeling there will be many bellwether trials in the Bard hernia mesh lawsuit. So every trial will reverberate in the final settlement compensation payouts victims see in the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits.

January 10, 2022 Mesh Lawsuit Update

Today was supposed to be a big deal because it was to mark the beginning of the next hernia mesh lawsuit that is going to trial. The case of Antonio Milanesi v. C.R. Bard begins today in Ohio before Judge Edmund A. Sargus. This is the biggest trial in this litigation and will be important for future mesh lawsuit settlement amounts. But the judge postponed the trial. No new date has been set. But our attorneys expect the new hernia mesh lawsuit trial will begin this winter.

Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Verdict in 2021

Last month, Round 1 of the bellwether trials in the C.R. Bard hernia mesh litigation resulted in a surprising victory for the defense. After a 22-day trial for Steven Johns, a federal court jury in Dayton, OH, ruled in favor of the defendants on all claims. It was a total win for Bard, and Mr. Johns’ received nothing.

Plaintiffs’ hernia mesh lawyers are saddened, and victims are wondering what this means for the future of the lawsuits against Bard.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath. This defeat in this first test trial, however painful, will likely have a minimal impact on the eventual outcome of hernia mesh litigation.

The same happened ten years ago in the Kugel Mesh litigation (a predecessor to the current hernia mesh litigation). Bard also scored a surprise victory – at least to plaintiffs’ attorneys – in the opening bellwether trial. But the second bellwether trial generated a $1,500,000 verdict for the plaintiff. This immediately prompted Bard to negotiate a global settlement of all the remaining cases. We could see that pattern repeat itself in this litigation.

History of the C.R. Bard Hernia Mesh

C.R. Bard Inc. (now a subsidiary of Beckton-Dickson) is a medical device company based in New Jersey. For the last two decades, Bard has been the leading manufacturer of hernia mesh devices. A hernia mesh implant is a small artificial screen or mesh used during hernia repair surgery to help reinforce surgically repaired muscle walls.

In the early 2000s, Bard was one of the leaders in a new type of hernia mesh product that was permanent rather than absorbable. Permanent hernia mesh implants must be made so that the mesh will be accepted by the body’s immune system and not form abnormal attachments to adjacent tissue or organs. Bard’s new permanent hernia mesh products include the Bard® Mesh and the Ventralight ST Mesh.

Polypropylene

These new mesh implants are made of a particular type of plastic called polypropylene. That plastic mesh is covered with a coating designed to create a barrier and prevent the mesh from attaching to nearby organ tissue. Unfortunately, the design of Bard’s hernia mesh implants had flaws that caused severe complications and adverse health consequences for many patients.

One problem was that polypropylene is not biologically inert in the human body. Biologically inert substances are those that do not react chemically or biologically with living tissues or fluids in the body. Biologically inert is what you want, obviously.

Polypropylene is known to expand and shrink, causing serious injury and impacting a patient’s quality of life. When polypropylene degrades, it causes a loss of material, which leads to an increased surface area for bacteria to adhere to and release toxic compounds from the PP. This also increases the inflammatory reaction and the intensity of fibrosis. So instead of being biologically inert inside the body, Bard’s mesh devices’ material were incompatible with some patients’ immune systems, leading to many health problems.

Additionally, it is well-known within the scientific and medical community that polypropylene begins to degrade after implantation in the human body. This can lead to infection, irritation, and serious pain as the body tries to rid itself of foreign material.

Consequences

After the mesh was implanted, many patients would have a severe immune response causing inflammation and pain. In other cases, the coating on the mesh would dissolve, allowing the mesh to adhere to nearby tissue in the bowel or other organs.

Bard’s hernia mesh devices can cause internal injuries and health complications. The most common injuries linked to defective hernia mesh products:

• Internal infections and pain
• Bowel obstruction
• Mesh detachment and migration
• Puncture of adjacent tissue/organs
• Adhesion to tissue and organs

Status of the Hernia Mesh Class-Action MDL Litigation Against C.R. Bard

Over the last 5-6 years, thousands of hernia mesh product liability lawsuits have been filed against C.R. Bard. These lawsuits allege that Bard’s polypropylene mesh products were not adequately tested before being released and had design flaws that made them unsafe for certain patients.

In 2017 the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JMPL) consolidated all of the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits in federal courts into a newly created Multi-District Litigation (MDL), which is similar to a class-action. Six years later, here we are.

Ohio MDL

The Bard Hernia Mesh MDL (In re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Lit. – MDL-2846) was created in the Southern District of Ohio. There are currently three different hernia mesh MDLs involving other medical device companies, but the Bard MDL is the largest of them with over 12,000 cases.

Progress in MDL

Like all the other hernia mesh MDLs, the progress of the Bard MDL has been slow compared to other mass torts. But it is picking up now. Many of the 15,136 plaintiffs in the Bard litigation have had their cases pending for five years or more. (If you are reading this and you are frustrated, I get it.) The timing of the COVID pandemic is the main reason for this slow pace. Last year, the federal court system shutdown happened when the Bard MDL was reaching its final stages.

Fortunately, the Bard MDL appears to be close to passing the finish line. The next trial against Bard in MDL-2846 (what the class action is called) is on March 23, 2022.

Estimated Settlement Payout in Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

The result of the next bellwether trial in May 2023 will impact the settlement amounts in the Bard hernia mesh litigation. But we are hoping for a global hernia mesh settlement before that trial.

Estimating the amount of that settlement payout at this stage is still speculative. No one knows what the average settlement value will be or how the recent big jury payout changes the trajectory of this litigation. And an attorney’s estimate of average settlement amounts is always fluid. But based on Bard’s settlement of a prior mass tort involving an earlier hernia mesh implant (the Kugel hernia mesh), we can try to make an educated guess as to the average settlement payout compensation plaintiffs might get in the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits.

We believe the average settlement payout for Bard hernia mesh plaintiffs will be around $80,000. The September 8, 2021 loss has little impact on this projection.

Hernia mesh lawsuit settlement amounts for individual plaintiffs will vary based on a point-based tier system which will award more compensation to those plaintiffs with more significant injuries.

For example, plaintiffs with the most severe injuries would be in “TIER I” and might get an average per person settlement between $110,000-$130,000. Plaintiffs with only minor complications and no permanent injuries would be in “TIER III” and may only get $50,000-$60,000. The Johns case is an excellent example of TIER III. That was an adhesions-only claim. Under this projected scenario, plaintiffs categorized in TIER II might get $75,000-$85,000.

Having settled the last round of mesh cases for average per-person settlement amounts of $70,000 each, Bard is familiar with this settlement range. Psychologically, this makes a similar number easier to swallow. Taken together in context, the Johns, Milanesi, and Trevino verdictsprobably slightly increase projected future settlement amounts.

Contact Us About Your Hernia Mesh Case

It is not too late to sue Bard for the problem you have had with your hernia mesh. Call and get answers. Call our hernia mesh attorneys at 800-553-5053 or get a free consultation online.

The hernia mesh lawsuits have been consolidated into several class action MDLs, most of which are holding bellwether test trials. We have had three bellwether trials. Hopefully, there will be a global settlement in 2023. " }}, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How Do I Know If My Hernia Mesh Was Recalled (or a part of these lawsuits)", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": " There have been major defects with many hernia mesh implants. There have not been any major recalls, so it is doubtful that your hernia mesh was recalled. I'm amazed how many people do not know their hernia mesh manufacturer. If you do not know, let your hernia mesh attorneys dig up your medical records to find out. " }}, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What Are the Symptoms of Hernia Mesh Failure?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": " Symptoms of hernia mesh failure include abdominal pain and inflammation, post-surgical adhesion, and bowel obstruction. " }} ]}