According to an order issued on April 1, the federal court overseeing the hernia mesh injury claims, targeted at C.R. Bard's polypropylene products, established protocols associated with the handling of Defendant Fact Sheets (DFS) for all cases included in the litigation's bellwether trial pool.
The order stated DFS for 12 cases must be submitted to the court on or prior to April 25, 2019. However, the order also specified defendants could request a 7-day extension for submitting a form, which the plaintiffs cannot withhold without a specific reason. Additionally, the order outlined procedures to resolve disputes when Plaintiffs’ Counsel claims a DFS to be insufficient, and the steps they must follow when a defendant fails to submit a completed form before the deadline expires. All information disclosed in a DFS, the form itself, and all related documents (including healthcare information) will be kept confidential as per the order. Last month, 12 lawsuits were shortlisted to be included in the bellwether trial pool, the court will shortlist three lawsuits among them for early trials in May 2020. These lawsuits will act as a representative case, the outcome of which will provide insight into how different jurors might rule in similar lawsuits filed over complications linked to Bard polypropylene hernia mesh.
There are more than 240 Bard hernia mesh lawsuits pending in the multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2846; In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation) formed in the Southern District of Ohio.
Earlier, Judge Edmund A. Sargus who is overlooking all the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits issued a pretrial order in a press conference. The order included a prediction from the plaintiffs' lawyers stating that the manufacturer will face roughly 3,000 claims in the federal MDL by the end of 2019. Another status conference is scheduled for April 17, 2019, for further discussion between the parties.
