The firm has many Bard Ventralight ST hernia mesh clients with filed suits for adhesions (scarring), infections and recurring hernias which have required revision surgeries. The scarring occurs when the mesh attaches to the small intestine, posing extreme health complications, including bowel resection. The “ST” is Seprafilm Technology, a thin film placed on the polypropylene, marketed as a way to prevent adhesions to internal organs. Competitors Ethicon and Covidien do not use Seprafilm.
Trials will focus on the Seprafilm and what Bard knew about whether it prevented scarring. Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. is the federal “rocket docket” judge who has chosen a Ventralight ST to be his first trial in May 11, 2020. The Ventralight ST plaintiff is represented by a Utah law firm which David Rheingold has worked closely with on many mass torts. We are expected to receive daily updates during the trial. More trials will be held on July 13, 2020, and September 14, 2020, if Bard does not settle them.
These trails are not binding, but will predict how juries may respond to future trials. The three trial dates will focus on different meshes Bard sells. Of the devices that have been agreed upon for early trials, Ventralight ST and Ventralex have the largest inventory in the MDL litigation, making up approximately 12% and 13.5%, respectively in the federal and Rhode Island state court litigations.
