For several years, courts across the nation have been inundated with thousands of pending hernia mesh lawsuits. These product liability claims assert that hernia mesh implants from various manufacturers were defective, causing diverse complications post-surgery.
The lawsuits encompass multiple hernia mesh products produced by four medical device companies: Ethicon (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that has recently settled most of its lawsuits), C.R. Bard (now part of Beckton Dickinson), Covidien, and Atrium Medical Corp. Lawsuits against each defendant have been consolidated into distinct class action MDLs.
UPDATES:
January 15, 2024: The hernia mesh class action MDL against C.R. Bard currently has 20,973 total pending cases. Despite three bellwether trials and a state court trial, this MDL, which is the largest among hernia mesh cases, has yet to reach a global settlement.
Summary of Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
A hernia mesh refers to a small net or mesh utilized by doctors in hernia surgeries to reinforce and fortify the muscle tissue wall. Given the commonality of hernia surgeries, thousands of these mesh implants are used annually.
Lawsuits are centered on permanent hernia mesh implants, distinct from dissolvable mesh. Unlike dissolvable mesh, permanent mesh is designed to remain inside the body indefinitely after implantation. Regrettably, several permanent hernia mesh implants exhibited design flaws leading to severe complications post-implantation.
Certain hernia mesh implants were not biologically inert, triggering the body’s immune system to attack them following implantation. Additionally, design imperfections caused many implants to irregularly adhere to adjacent tissues or organs. These complications resulted in serious injuries, often necessitating additional surgical intervention.
The plaintiffs in the hernia mesh lawsuits claim that the mesh was defectively designed and manufactured, causing a number of complications such as pain, infection, mesh migration, mesh shrinkage, perforation of organs, and recurrent hernias. The plaintiffs further argue that Bard and other manufacturers failed to adequately warn of these risks and did not provide adequate instructions for safe use.
Bard Hernia Mesh Class Action
The hernia mesh lawsuits have been consolidated into several different class action MDLs for each specific mesh manufacturer. The biggest of these MDLs is the one involving C.R. Bard in the Southern District of Ohio. (In re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Lit. – MDL-2846)(the “Bard Hernia Mesh MDL”).
The Bard Hernia Mesh MDL was established in August 2018, so it has been pending now for a long time. There are currently over 20,000 plaintiffs in the Bard Hernia Mesh MDL, making it the 3rd biggest mass tort in the country.
Hernia Mesh Verdicts
To date, there have been 4 major test trials in the hernia mesh litigation. 3 of these were bellwether trials in the Bard Hernia Mesh MDL. The 4th was a state court hernia mesh case that went to trial in Rhode Island.
The 3 bellwether trials resulted in 2 solid victories for the plaintiffs and 1 loss. The first trial ended in a defense verdict. The second trial yielded a $225,000 verdict for the plaintiff and the third bellwether trial gave us a $500,000 verdict. The biggest win for the hernia mesh plaintiffs came in the Rhode Island state court trial, which produced a massive verdict of $4.8 million.
Currently, the hernia mesh plaintiffs are actively pushing for more cases to go to trial because this is the only way to force Bard into negotiating a global settlement to resolve all of the pending cases.
Settlement Value of Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
Our legal team foresees that the estimated total cost of the Bard hernia mesh global settlement will amount to approximately $1.5 billion. This projected sum may translate to an average payout per plaintiff of less than $100,000. However, this average does not signify that every plaintiff will receive less than $100,000. It is anticipated that the settlement will employ a tiered system, categorizing cases based on diverse criteria.
We anticipate a substantial disparity between the lowest and highest settlement tiers in the Bard settlement. Cases ranked in the highest tier of the Bard hernia mesh litigation may potentially yield settlement values ranging from $800,000 to $1 million, while payouts for cases positioned in the lower settlement tier could fall below $50,000. Additionally, we expect the global settlement to include qualifying factors intended to dismiss a percentage of cases from consideration.
When Will We See a Hernia Mesh Global Settlement?
The Bard Hernia Mesh MDL is poised to become one of the next significant mass torts to be resolved. Our legal team foresees a potential global settlement in the Bard hernia mesh cases within a few months after the conclusion of the third bellwether trial. If the third bellwether trial proceeds as scheduled in May, without further delays, a settlement might be realized by around this time next year.
This anticipation is largely rooted in the outcome of another MDL concerning Ethicon’s Physiomesh implants. The Ethicon hernia mesh MDL tackled identical product liability claims and alleged defects. Ethicon successfully closed a global settlement deal in that MDL after just one bellwether trial.
However, a potential complication in the global settlement process for the Bard hernia mesh MDL is the substantial volume of pending cases. While the Ethicon settlement involved fewer than 4,000 plaintiffs, the Bard MDL is significantly larger, with over 20,000 pending cases. Consequently, the expected price tag for any global settlement in the Bard MDL is anticipated to be notably higher compared to the Ethicon settlement.
Contact Us About Your Hernia Mesh Case
It is not too late to file your hernia mesh lawsuit. If you were injured by a defective hernia mesh implant, free consultation at 800-322-3010 or get a free online consultation.