What to Know About the Bard PowerPort Lawsuits Headed to Trial
Early next year, the first of the Bard PowerPort lawsuits will finally go to trial. These lawsuits, which claim that the catheter device implanted to deliver medications has dangerous design defects, have steadily worked their way through the legal process as more and more cases were filed.
With over 1,700 lawsuits now grouped together in federal court, there will be a lot riding on the outcome of these early trials.
Here is what you need to know about the six cases being prepared to go before a jury.
PowerPort Bellwether Cases Represent a Wide Range of Injuries
Due to the high number of cases that have been filed, many of the PowerPort lawsuits have been grouped together before one judge in federal court to move through the legal process together in multidistrict litigation (MDL).
From that group, six cases were selected in May to serve as bellwether trials. These work as test trials, giving each side a sense of the strength of their arguments and what might happen if more of these cases were to go before a jury.
It was a somewhat drawn-out process to select these six lawsuits, with both sides battling for the cases they felt were the strongest for their arguments. Adding to the complexity is the sheer number of different injuries people claim to have suffered from the PowerPort catheter.
This includes infections, fractures, blood clots and the need for surgery.
Judge David Campbell, who is overseeing the lawsuits, pushed for the six cases selected to collectively cover all of those issues.
The first case up involves a Minnesota man who had a PowerPort catheter implanted to help administer chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
When the device was removed, doctors discovered that it was infected. The man’s lawsuit claims that this led to the need for intravenous antibiotics, an unnecessary major surgery and the threat of an increased risk of future issues that could be very serious.
This includes a risk of cardiac tamponade, which is where so much fluid builds up around the heart that it can’t pump properly.
That case’s trial is likely to begin in February 2026.
Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Trials Could Influence Settlement for Hundreds of Cases
While only six PowerPort cases are scheduled to go to trial, their outcomes could significantly impact hundreds of other cases.
Bellwether trials and their results play a major role in settlement negotiations as both sides learn more about the strength of their cases. If the people who have filed these lawsuits win their trials, then it could bode well for the more than 1,700 other cases pending together in court.
If the manufacturers of the catheters lose these early trials, they may be encouraged to negotiate a wider settlement for many or all the pending cases. This could be preferable to the risk of taking more individual lawsuits to trial where they could end up on the hook for hefty jury verdicts.
On the other hand, losses for people who were impacted in the bellwether trials could potentially harm the settlement prospects for other similar cases.
We will know more in about six months as these trials move closer to getting underway. After the first trial begins in February, another trial will most likely take place every few weeks.
