Becton Dickinson Announces Settlement to End “Vast Majority” of Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
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In a major update to the ongoing hernia mesh lawsuits, Becton Dickinson has announced a settlement agreement that will resolve the “vast majority” of hernia litigation against the company.
Becton Dickinson did not release the specific terms of the settlement. However, it did reveal that the amount is within the company’s current product litigation reserve and that it will pay out the settlement over multiple years.
This settlement will likely resolve most of the hernia mesh cases both in the federal multidistrict litigation based in Ohio and in the Rhode Island consolidated litigation.
“The settlement does not include any admission of liability or wrongdoing, and BD continues to dispute the allegations in these matters,” Becton Dickinson said in a statement. “The company will continue to vigorously defend itself in cases not resolved through this agreement.”
As of this week, there were over 24,000 active lawsuits pending in the Ohio MDL.
There are multiple MDLs that have consolidated lawsuits against hernia mesh makers, with other groups of lawsuits such as the Covidien MDL likely unaffected by this settlement.
Past Verdicts for Plaintiffs Set the Stage for Hernia Mesh Settlement
The years-long battle between those who filed lawsuits over hernia mesh complications and Becton Dickinson was largely decided by the result of several bellwether trials.
Subsidiary C.R. Bard won the first of the trials, but the tide quickly turned from there. The second case to go to trial resulted in a $225,000 verdict for the plaintiff, with the third bellwether trial then awarding $500,000 in a similar verdict.
The most significant blow came in August 2022, when a Rhode Island jury awarded a sizeable $4.8 million to the plaintiff in a case against Becton Dickinson.
The newly announced settlement comes as lawsuits have continued to mount. The MDL has added more than 3,000 cases throughout this year.
Other MDLs with claims against hernia mesh manufacturers are moving along as well. The Covidien multidistrict litigation, which contains over 1,500 active cases, is inching closer to getting bellwether trials underway.
Hernia Mesh Lawsuits Claim Products Were Defective
Lawsuits have claimed that hernia mesh products were defective and resulted in serious injuries to plaintiffs.
Complications have been severe enough to result in the need for additional surgeries.
Some of the issues that have been listed in lawsuits include adhesion – where the mesh implant sticks to other organs – as well as bowel obstruction. Plaintiffs have also claimed chronic pain and inflammation as conditions caused by the defective products.
Hernia mesh lawsuits have dated back years and have been filed against numerous manufacturers. The largest public settlement ever came in 2011 when Bard Davol settled Kugel hernia patch lawsuits for $184 million.
