Bard Settlement Reached To Resolve Hernia Mesh Lawsuits, With “Multi-Year” Payout Structure

A long-anticipated Bard hernia mesh settlement finally appears to have been reached, which could resolve most of the litigation with payouts over a number of years, though the details of the agreement are being kept confidential and individual plaintiffs still need to agree to participate.

Over the past six years, C.R. Bard has faced more than 21,000 separate product liability lawsuits, each involving similar allegations that plaintiffs suffered painful and debilitating injuries caused by design defects associated with various polypropylene hernia mesh products, including the Bard Ventralight, Bard Ventralex, Bard Perfix Plug, Bard 3D Max and similar systems.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in the claims, Bard hernia mesh lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus in the Southern District of Ohio since August 2018, as part of a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. In addition, similar consolidated proceedings have been established in the state courts of Rhode Island, where the manufacturer’s headquarters are located.

Following mixed results in a series of early bellwether test trials, which were held to help determine how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that may be repeated throughout thousands of claims, the parties have been meeting with a mediator to conduct intensive Bard hernia mesh settlement talks, before large numbers of individual claims were remanded for trials nationwide.

In early July 2024, after six years of litigation, a stay was issued in the Bard hernia mesh lawsuit MDL, suggesting that the parties were closing in on a global settlement agreement to resolve claims brought by individuals nationwide. However, individual plaintiffs have been waiting since then for any word about whether they may receive an offer to resolve their claim.

Late Wednesday, Beckton, Dickinson and Company, the parent company of C.R. Bard, issued a press release announcing that parties had finally settled on an agreement to resolve the vast majority of the litigation. No amount for the Bard hernia mesh settlement was released, but the manufacturer indicates it will be paid out over a multi-year period.

“BD believes this agreement is in the best interest of all parties and is structured to eliminate uncertainty for all stakeholders related to the settled cases. The hernia mass tort litigation represents a large majority of BD’s total product litigation reserve,” the press release states. “The multi-year payment structure was contemplated as part of the company’s cash flow planning process and was included in its previously communicated free cash flow goals and capital allocation strategy.”

Company officials stress that the settlement is not an admission of guilt, and claims they intend to combat any claims not resolved through the settlement.

The individual Bard hernia mesh settlement payouts must still be approved by the vast majority of plaintiffs, before any deal is finalized.