The nationally recognized mass tort law firm Levin Papantonio Rafferty (LPR) announces that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) created a multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 3081 In Re: Bard Implanted Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation) for Bard PowerPort lawsuits. The JPML issued a Transfer Order to centralize lawsuits alleging that the implantable catheter devices are defective, creating possible infections and catheter failures that can lead to thrombosis, stroke, and death.

Plaintiffs in eight pending actions filed a motion to centralize these lawsuits for the purpose of discovery and pretrial hearings. The MDL has been assigned to the Honorable David G. Campbell, who currently presides over MDL 2641 – In re Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation, in the District of Arizona.

Defendants in the newly formed MDL include Becton, Dickinson & Co., C.R. Bard, Inc., and Bard Access Systems.

“We are confident in Judge Campbell’s ability to streamline pretrial proceedings, and we appreciate that those who have suffered injuries from these medical devices will benefit from an efficient and fair judicial process,” said LPR Attorney Alex Taylor, who is investigating PowerPort cases on behalf of potential clients.

Bard PowerPort product liability complaints allege that the defendants make the port’s catheter components with an excessive concentration of barium sulfate, which can compromise the catheter’s structure. Possible injuries from the damaged catheter include infection, catheter fracture, catheter migration, and thrombosis.