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Bard PowerPort Lawsuits

Bard PowerPort lawsuits claim failure of the device has caused serious injuries. According to legal filings, the company received multiple injury reports for years and neglected to inform patients of the risks. These risks included blood clots, infection, hemorrhage, punctures to the heart and more.

This is an active lawsuit

See If You Qualify for a Bard PowerPort Lawsuit

If you or your loved one suffered serious injuries after your Bard PowerPort device failed, you may be entitled to compensation. Get a free case review.

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Last Modified: December 2, 2024
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Drugwatch.com writers gather lawsuit information by studying court records, watching lawsuit proceedings and speaking with experienced attorneys.

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Latest Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Updates

As of December 2024, there were 813 active Bard PowerPort lawsuits pending in Arizona multidistrict litigation (MDL) 3081 before Judge David G. Campbell.

We’ve researched court documents and spoken to lawyers to give you the following updates.

Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Timeline

  • November 2024:
    The MDL judge has rejected a request from plaintiffs to extend the discovery schedule. Plaintiffs had hoped to have fact discovery extended by two months into March, citing the loss of time to complete depositions during the upcoming holiday season. The court did say that it will revisit the request at the next case management conference, which is set for early December. But, for now, the current schedule will remain in place.

    The MDL has also continued to expand, adding nearly 200 new cases over the last month. There are now 720 pending lawsuits.
  • October 2024:
    The Arizona-based MDL has seen notable growth in recent months, increasing from 299 active cases in July to 521 in October. We are continuing to monitor updates in the ongoing litigation.
  • July 2024:
    U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell met with lawyers to discuss discovery for 24 Bard PowerPort bellwether trials. He was expected to soon issue an order scheduling the first trials, with the next status conference on Aug. 16, 2024.
  • May 2024:
    Defendants requested additional medical records on several plaintiffs that may be considered for bellwether test trials. Without these records, they will be excluded from the trial pool. Another status conference was scheduled.
  • April 2024:
    Federal Judge David G. Campbell turned down Bard's request to delay bellwether trials. The judge ordered attorneys for both sides to stick to the schedule and have candidate cases for bellwether trials submitted to the court by July 1, 2024.
  • February 2024:
    A handful of lawsuits were transferred from state courts in Colorado, New Jersey and Texas into the MDL. No trials had been scheduled.
  • December 2023:
    The Arizona MDL was still in the initial stages. Judge David G. Campbell issued several case management orders to set the groundwork for procedures going forward. Judges on the MDL panel had a hearing scheduled in January 2024 regarding transferring more cases into the MDL.
  • October 2023:
    As of Oct. 19, 2023, there were no Bard PowerPort pending lawsuits in the MDL, but 8,689 cases had been filed, including a product liability lawsuit filed by a Maryland cancer patient.
  • August 2023:
    Plaintiffs filed more than 50 Bard PowerPort lawsuits. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer order on Aug. 8, 2023, to centralize all claims. The proceedings were set to go before U.S. District Court Judge David G. Campbell of the District of Arizona.
  • May 2023:
    Personal injury and wrongful death claims escalated and courts petitioned to centralize claims. Unlike class-action claims, lawsuits centralized in multidistrict litigation remain individual cases and each plaintiff presents their own damages.
  • April 2023:
    Lawsuits against the makers of the Bard PowerPort catheter device claimed the access system caused multiple injuries due to cracking and fracturing. Patients with the device had an increased risk of blood clots, internal damage and infection.
  • March 2020:
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a recall notice for several Bard PowerPort models because the devices contained incorrect tunneler tips.
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Law firms are actively accepting Bard PowerPort cases and lawyers expect many more people to file. There is a deadline to file a lawsuit for the implanted port catheter. If you’re interested in filing a PowerPort lawsuit, speak to an attorney right away to preserve your right to file.

Why Are People Filing PowerPort Lawsuits?

People are filing lawsuits against the makers of the Bard PowerPort because they claim that the device’s faulty design increases the risk of organ damage, infection and blood clots. Design defects can cause high injection flow rates and a tendency for the catheter to break apart.

“Bard PowerPort injuries result in numerous damages to potential victims, including sustaining medical bills, future medical expenses, lost wages or lost earning capacity, permanent disability, pain and suffering, emotional damages, and other compensatory damages,” said attorney Brendan Smith of Simmons Hanly Conroy.

“Bard PowerPort injuries result in numerous damages to potential victims, including sustaining medical bills, future medical expenses, lost wages or lost earning capacity, permanent disability, pain and suffering, emotional damages, and other compensatory damages.”
Brendan Smith Mass Tort and Product Liability Attorney

A functioning port catheter is an implanted device that allows simple access to veins for the delivery of medications such as chemotherapy. The port contains a small reservoir for injecting medication. A doctor implants the device under the skin. The catheter rests inside the vein and is typically silicone or polyurethane.

As patients receive medication through the Bard PowerPort, the design causes the injection flow to increase, which creates pressure against the plastic tubing. The barium sulfate tubing can fracture and cause bacteria to build in the small crack.

Over time, the pressure releases plastic fragments into the bloodstream.

These tiny plastic fragments may cause:
  • Abnormal heart rhythms
  • Blood clots
  • Infection
  • Punctures in the heart and pulmonary embolisms
  • Ruptured blood vessels
Bard PowerPort side effects from complications may include:
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Confusion
  • Drainage at the port site
  • Fever
  • Inflammation
  • Kidney problems
  • Swelling

Becton Dickinson, the medical technology company that manufactures and sells the Bard PowerPort, may have known about these issues for several years. The allegations against the company claim it concealed thousands of reports from doctors and patients citing injuries caused by Bard PowerPort device failures.

Manufacturers could conceal the elevated incidence of device malfunctions as permitted by 21 CFR 803.19 of the FDA’s Alternative Summary Reporting program. Lawsuits against BD and its subsidiaries claim they failed to represent device safety and warn health care providers or issue a timely Bard PowerPort recall.

Who Qualifies to File a Bard PowerPort Lawsuit?

You may be eligible to file a Bard PowerPort lawsuit if your doctor implanted a Bard PowerPort device and you experienced a related injury. Only a licensed attorney can tell you if you are eligible.

Qualifying injuries in lawsuits include:
  • Blood clots (such as deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism)
  • Cardiac punctures
  • Heart attack
  • Hemorrhage or hematoma (bleeding)
  • Infection
  • Necrosis (tissue death)
  • Pericardial effusion (fluid buildup around the heart)
  • Severe or long-lasting pain
  • Stroke
  • Tearing or perforating of blood vessels, organs or tissue

A Bard PowerPort lawyer may ask about your experiences after you received the device. Make sure to have a record of your symptoms and medical issues with you when you speak to an attorney. If you aren’t sure about your diagnosis, a lawyer may be able to help you obtain medical records.

“If you or a loved one used a Bard implantable port catheter device and were subsequently injured, you may be eligible to file a Bard PowerPort lawsuit and pursue financial compensation.”
Brendan Smith Mass Tort and Product Liability Attorney

“If you or a loved one used a Bard implantable port catheter device and were subsequently injured, you may be eligible to file a Bard PowerPort lawsuit and pursue financial compensation,” Smith said.

If you want to file a lawsuit, speak to an attorney immediately. If the time runs out on your statute of limitations, you won’t be able to file a claim.

Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Case Study

Mary Nelk v. Becton Dickinson and Company
Mary Nelk filed her lawsuit, Case No. 23-cv-1173, against Becton Dickinson in February 2023 in New Jersey District Court.

PowerPort Usage:
Nelk received a single lumen Bard PowerPort on or about Feb. 17, 2021, so she could get nutrients for the treatment of Crohn’s disease.

Injuries Claimed:
On or about Feb. 28, 2021, Nelk went back to the hospital complaining about hematoma, arm pain and high fever. After she got an X-ray and lab work, doctors confirmed she had a bloodstream infection. She ended up back in the hospital on March 3, 2021 to treat the infection. Hospital staff noted the port did not function. Nelk suffered from multiple hospital admissions for her infections, increased anxiety and ongoing fear of bloodstream infections.

Relief Sought:
Nelk demanded “compensatory, special, and punitive damages, together with interest, costs of suit, attorneys’ fees, and all such other relief as the Court deems just and proper” in her lawsuit.

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Choosing a Bard PowerPort Lawyer

You should consider experience and success rates when choosing a Bard PowerPort lawyer. A lawyer with expertise in personal injury, medical devices and defective device lawsuits will likely have the most success with your case.

Questions to ask a Bard PowerPort lawsuit lawyer include:
  • How familiar are you with medical device cases such as PowerPort lawsuits?
  • How many of your cases have gone to trial?
  • How many years have you worked on similar cases?
  • What is your success rate with medical device settlements?
  • What should I expect as your client?
  • What will be the timeline of my case?

An experienced Bard PowerPort lawsuit lawyer will guide you through filing a medical device case. Your lawyer should explain the entire litigation process. They’ll help you file your complaint in court and negotiate your settlement. They’ll fight for you in court if your case goes to trial.

How Much Can You Expect From a PowerPort Settlement?

Because lawsuits are still in the early phases, it’s too early to tell what you can expect from a PowerPort settlement. There haven’t been any trials scheduled for the Bard PowerPort, and there have not yet been any settlements.

But this isn’t the first time Bard has faced lawsuits. In 2014, Bard agreed to settle lawsuits against its defective pelvic mesh products for $21 million. Six years later, Bard settled further lawsuits for $60 million related to the marketing of its pelvic mesh products.

Since 2021, Bard has faced more than 11,000 federal lawsuits for its polypropylene hernia mesh products. These hernia mesh lawsuits claim the implants caused infections, organ perforation, intestinal blockage and other injuries. There haven’t been any jury verdicts or settlements in these cases yet.

Bard also faces more than 1,300 federal IVC filter lawsuits. Inferior vena cava filters aim to reduce the risk of blood clots in people who cannot take blood thinners. NBC News linked Bard to 39 deaths caused by the IVC filters. In April 2018, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court awarded Sherr-Una Booker more than $3.5 million in damages.

Was There a Bard PowerPort Recall?

To date, there is no recall for Bard PowerPort related to the potential catheter risks. In March 2020, the FDA posted a Class 2 recall notice for several models of the Bard PowerPort for a separate issue. The recall recommended that all health care facilities send back affected PowerPort devices.

The Health Sciences Authority issued an urgent medical device recall notification in September 2019. In a letter, BD and Bard outlined the reason for the recall as an incorrect barb tip for the included catheter in the PowerPort. The letter noted that “there is the potential that the catheter could become dislodged from the tunneler.”

BD claimed in the same statement that the error was “unlikely to lead to serious injury.” This recall failed to acknowledge the issues with the ChronoFlex catheter tubing itself. The lawsuits indicate that the high barium sulfate concentration in the polyurethane polymer causes a loss of integrity.

Please seek the advice of a medical professional before making health care decisions.