In a major win for plaintiffs, former medical manufacturer C.R. Bard has reached a settlement agreement to resolve most of its ongoing hernia mesh lawsuits. Thousands of plaintiffs who were injured because of their hernia mesh implants will soon be able to receive personalized settlement offers to pay for medical bills and other damages.
This is the first global settlement to come out of the Bard MDL class action lawsuit since it began in 2018, shortly after Becton, Dickinson Company acquired C.R. Bard in 2017. Becton did not reveal the terms of the settlement agreement, but stated in a press release that the settlement “represents a large majority” of the money it has available for product litigation. According to its third quarter fiscal 2024 financial report, Becton has $1.7 billion reserved for product liability claims and legal defense costs.
Payouts for the settlement agreement will be awarded over a multi-year period, though Becton did not disclose how long that period will last for. At this time, it’s also unclear how long it will take for plaintiffs to start receiving their settlements.
What does this mean for the hernia mesh lawsuit?
Though Becton stated that this agreement could resolve the “vast majority of its existing hernia litigation,” it won’t be the end of the hernia mesh lawsuit. For now, victims with defective hernia mesh can still sue against C.R. Bard to be compensated for their damages.
Current plaintiffs also have the option to either accept the settlement offer or reject it and continue pursuing their cases. Becton stated that it will continue to “vigorously defend itself in cases not resolved through this agreement.”
Even in the face of nearly 40,000 ongoing C.R. Bard lawsuits, Becton insisted that its settlement agreement was not an admission of any liability or wrongdoing. In its press release, Becton promised that patient safety and product quality were its “top priorities,” claiming that all implantable medical devices “carry inherent risks and provide significant clinical benefits.”