Bard PowerPort Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Over Device Fractures, Failure

Becton Dickinson, and its Bard subsidiaries, face a wrongful death lawsuit alleging a Bard PowerPort fractured and failed due to dangerous design defects associated with the catheter port implant.

The complaint (PDF) was filed late last week by Christopher Cabello in New Jersey state court, pursuing damages from the manufacturer on behalf of his deceased wife, Elizabeth, who received a Bard Groshong MRI implantable injection PowerPort in September 2020, for ongoing treatment of metastatic bladder cancer.

The Bard PowerPort system is a vascular access device, which is implanted below the skin to provide a catheter port that allows the easy delivery of medications to a patient’s blood stream. It consists mainly of an injection port, where the needle is inserted to deliver medications; and a polyurethane catheter tube which carries the drug into the blood vessel.

Unlike other implanted ports, such as Port-a-cath or Mediport, the Bard PowerPort is marketed as a special type of port catheter, which is intended to withstand higher injection pressures. However, Cabello now joins a growing number of individuals nationwide who are pursuing Bard PowerPort lawsuits, alleging that the catheter tube is prone to crack and fracture, increasing the risk of infections, deep vein thrombosis and other complications.

More than seven months after Elizabeth Cabello received the Bard Groshong MRI implantable injection PowerPort, her husband indicates that she had to go to the emergency with complaints of extreme chest pain from the catheter in May 2021. A port patency study revealed a fracture with extravasation near the entry point of the catheter.

Cabello was required to undergo emergency surgery to remove the PowerPort, at which time the fracture and leakage in the PowerPort was confirmed. The lawsuit indicates Cabello suffered numerous health complications as a result, which contributed to her death in October 2022.

The complaint notes that soon after the Bard PowerPort was introduced to the market, the manufacturers began receiving adverse event reports, mostly concerning thromboembolism after implantation. These also involved injury reports including:

• Hemorrhage
• Infection and sepsis
• Cardiac/pericardial tamponade
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Severe and persistent pain
• Perforation of organs, tissues and blood vessels
• Death

“Defendants intentionally and knowingly concealed the dangerous propensity of the PowerPort device to fracture and migrate, necessitating surgical intervention. Defendants further intentionally concealed their knowledge of the cause of these failures, and that the failures were known to cause serious injuries,” the lawsuit states. “Despite knowledge of numerous reports of catheter failure. Defendants continued to actively and aggressively market the PowerPort as safe.”

The lawsuit claims Bard knew about PowerPort problems and could have changed the design to make it safer for patients, but instead continued to aggressively market the device in order to maximize profits at the expense of potential patient injuries.

Cabello’s lawsuit presents claims of failure to warn, negligence, design defect, manufacturing defect, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, fraudulent concealment, violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud and Product Liability Acts, violations of the California Unfair Practices Act, and wrongful death. Her family seek compensatory and punitive damages.