On April, 15 2022, a jury found for a plaintiff in a case against C.R. Bard surrounding its Hernia Mesh product. The trial took place in federal court in Columbus, Ohio against Becton, Dickinson and Co. which acquired C.R. Bard Inc. in 2017.
The plaintiff, Antonio Milanesi, alleged injuries as a result of C.R. Bard’s Ventralex mesh which was implanted in 2007 as part of a hernia repair. His wife, Alicia Morz De Milanesi, was also a named plaintiff in the case. Milanesi asserted that the defective product led to an infection and bowel abscess which required a second surgery in 2017.
The plaintiffs claimed the product is defectively designed because the material degrades in human tissue. While the jury agreed with the plaintiffs’ negligent design defect claim, they did not agree with the strict products liability claim, failure to warn, negligent misrepresentation or fraudulent misrepresentation claims.
The trial was the second bellwether in the Bard Hernia Mesh Litigation. The first bellwether trial resulted in a defense verdict. More than 16,000 cases have been consolidated in a Multi-district litigation (“MDL”) in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio in front of Judge Edmund Sargus, Jr. Plaintiffs allege they have suffered inflammation, pain, infections and additional injuries due to Bard’s mesh product. In addition to the cases in federal court, there are an estimated 10,000 more cases against Bard, some in a consolidated proceeding in Rhode Island’s state court.
Johnson and Johnson’s Ethicon and Getinge’s Atrium Medical Corp, who also sell hernia mesh products, have likewise been sued. In December 2021, Getinge reported to have settled all claims for $66 million.
The bellwether case is Milanesi et al v. C.R. Bard Inc et al, No. 2:18-cv-01320, and the MDL is In re: Davol Inc/C.R. Bard Inc Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, No. 2:18-md-02846, both in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.
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