Parties have until the end of January 2025 to finish depositions and fact discovery for potential Bard PowerPort lawsuit bellwether trials.
Hundreds of currently pending Bard PowerPort lawsuits over infections, fractures and migration injuries were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) over one year ago, but now more claims present similar allegations that the implantable port catheter system has dangerous design defects not adequately disclosed by the manufacturer.
As the federal litigation heads into it's 2nd year, the Court has re-appointed a group of Bard PowerPort lawsuit attorneys to continue serving in leadership positions in the consolidated multidistrict litigation (MDL)
Bellwether claims will be prepared for early trials to help gauge how juries may respond to evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout more than 300 other Bard Power lawsuits currently pending in the federal court system.
Lawyers for Bard PowerPort plaintiffs and the manufacturers indicate they are working cooperatively to move through the discovery process and to meet a deadline in 2025 to select claims for early bellwether trials.
Researchers indicate polyurethane catheters, such as those used in Bard PowerPort implants, often lead to early device failure and infections.
Judge compared Bard PowerPort lawsuits to IVC filter litigation, where the majority of cases were filed more than 18 months after the claims were consolidated into a MDL
Of the 25 Bard chemo port devices on the market, at least 15 have been identified in lawsuits filed over failures, infections and other complications among individuals who received the implantable port catheter.
U.S. JPML has confirmed that Bard PowerPort infection lawsuits raising alternative theories of causation, such as reservoir defects, should be included in the federal MDL established last year in the District of Arizona
The outcome of the early bellwether test trials could impact the average Bard Power Port lawsuit settlement amounts the manufacturer may need to pay to avoid hundreds of claims being remanded for individual trials.
