Once in a while, a litigation is filed that takes the world by surprise. The field of healthcare is vulnerable to lawsuits from injured patients.
Sometimes, a medical practitioner commits malpractice, and other times, a medical device fails to meet its claims. If the device is deemed too safe, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalls it.
The 2024 recall list includes over 30 medical devices. One medical device that was recalled and then resumed was the Bard PowerPort. However, its litigation is still in progress, albeit slowly. Will settlements be made in 2025? This article will discuss the Bard PowerPort litigation in detail.
What is the Bard Power Port Lawsuit?
To understand the Bard PowerPort lawsuit properly, we must first understand the medical device. It is a catheter port device that allows medical practitioners vascular access.
Also known as the circulatory system, the vascular system comprises an extensive network. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, this network of blood and lymph vessels carries blood and lymph to different parts of the body. It is only through this system that doctors can administer fluids and medications to a patient’s desired body parts.
Medical devices like the Bard PowerPort allow doctors to access a patient’s bloodstream for:
- Taking blood samples
- Delivering intravenous fluids, parenteral nutrition solutions, and other medications
- Conducting Power-Injected Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) scans
This device is primarily used for treatments like kidney dialysis and chemotherapy. It has been alleged that the Bard PowerPort device is prone to rupturing and migrating, thereby leading to life-threatening injuries.
Cases where the device broke apart and migrated left patients with complications like blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, vein damage, and necrosis at the implant site. Besides the injuries, there is another allegation.
The manufacturer, Bard Access Systems, was believed to be aware of the complications. The device ruptures due to a manufacturing or design flaw. Despite knowing, the company did nothing to warn patients or doctors who continued their treatments unbeknownst.
Why is it Called a Slow-Moving Litigation?
As per TorHoerman Law, the first group of plaintiffs in the Bard PowerPort litigation filed their claims on May 24th, 2023. Since there were many similar injury cases, the judge consolidated them into a class-action multi-district litigation (MDL) 3081.
Even at the beginning, this litigation started surprisingly slow. Besides the first group of plaintiffs, only a handful of cases were filed every month that followed. During consolidation, the defendant side even tried to resist the push. Perhaps it was aware that the litigation did have the potential to grow increasingly.
For the latter half of 2023, case numbers rose from a few tens every month to 50 or 60. Word about the risks associated with vaginal mesh was spreading. Cases were being filed across the US, Chicago, New Jersey, and Texas, to name a few places.
By this time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had strict standards for the Bard PowerPort. The agency had considered this medical device for a Class 2 device recall, which is an issue for devices that may cause temporary or reversible but serious health injuries.
It acknowledged that leaks in the device had disrupted the flow of medication. By the middle of 2023, the court had started issuing case management orders for a jury trial. This was good news, but the litigation had grown little.
Lawyers estimated that hundreds of thousands of patients had used the Bard PowerPort at some point. According to that record, there should have been at least 10,000 to 12,000 case filings. However, there had been only a few hundred filings.
This highlighted that many patients and healthcare providers were unaware of the litigation. Even among those who knew, many would have hesitated to file a lawsuit because they could have attributed their injuries to other causes.
Are Attorneys Expecting Settlements in 2025?
Even today, this litigation is moving slower than initially expected. However, the lawsuit is still in its nascent stages. There is certainly a long way to go, and case numbers will rise by next year.
In the meantime, it is good news that the litigation itself is progressing speedily. Judges are trying their best to conduct trials as soon as possible, and efforts are being made to spread the word about the lawsuit so victims can receive fair compensation.
The 11th case management conference has been held, and the court has denied the plaintiff’s counsel’s request for a discovery extension. The litigation is expected to progress as scheduled. If no further disruptions delay the progression, this litigation should have a definitive outcome by mid-2025.
The FDA recalled the device in March 2020, but it was canceled in February 2022. In 2023, the agency shared a case in which a patient underwent chemotherapy through a Bard port catheter. The device was found to be fractured towards the right ventricle. Fortunately, it was removed the next day, although the patient suffered no harm. Not all cases are this fortunate.
The FDA continues to monitor the use of devices in circulation. If anything, the current state makes it clear that this litigation will grow steadily.
