There are tens of thousands of unresolved hernia mesh lawsuits against three companies. C.R. Bard is defending over 17,000 federally-consolidated hernia mesh lawsuits in Ohio and thousands of similar lawsuits in state court. But the litigation may be close to resolution because the judge who is overseeing the multidistrict litigation (the consolidated federal cases; the cases are put in the same jurisdiction to avoid overclogging U.S. District Courts with similar cases) has recently appointed a settlement master.
U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus, Jr. in the Southern District of Ohio, issued a case management order on August 17, stating that he had appointed John Jackson to work with the parties and discover whether a settlement, MedTruth.com reported.
C.R. Bard hernia mesh litigation centers around certain polypropylene-derived hernia mesh repair medical products, including the company’s Ventralex, Ventralight, Perfix, and 3D Maxeach. Plaintiffs claim that Bard’s hernia mesh products were defective and caused them to develop painful complications.
The announcement of a settlement master was made less than two weeks before a jury trial awarded a Hawaiian man $5 million for damages in a Bard hernia mesh trial. The jury found Bard and its subsidiary Davol responsible for injuries to Paul Tervino, a municipal worker who claimed Bard’s hernia mesh kit was defective and that the company failed to warn consumers about the alleged defects.
Trevino sued Bard in a Rhode Island court, where thousands of similar lawsuits have been filed.
If a settlement agreement is not reached, the lawsuits will be remanded (sent back) to federal district courts next year. Two MDL test trials are scheduled for next year, one in February and the other in May. Due to the Trevino verdict, plaintiff representatives may push for a higher settlement figure.
In July, the second Bard hernia mesh test trial verdict was upheld by Judge Sargus, leaving an April $250,000 jury verdict for Antonio Milanesi. Milanesi’s attorneys argued that the award was not sufficient. Bard wanted the decision reversed, claiming that the plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence.
Bard was cleared of liability in the first MDL trial, which was tried in 2021.
