Bard PowerPort.
Catheter litigation.
Federal multi-district litigation alleging that Bard's implantable port catheter devices fracture, migrate, and cause bloodstream infections due to a polyurethane material defect. The first bellwether trial begins April 21, 2026, with five additional bellwether trials scheduled through February 2027.
The plaintiff theory.
The device. The defect.
The Bard PowerPort MDL consolidates claims against C.R. Bard, Inc. and its parent company Becton, Dickinson and Company, brought by patients implanted with Bard's implantable port catheter devices. The PowerPort is a vascular access device surgically placed under the skin to provide long-term IV access for chemotherapy, antibiotic infusions, and frequent blood draws. Plaintiffs are predominantly cancer patients.
The core engineering theory targets Chronoflex AL, the polyurethane material from which the catheter is made. Plaintiffs allege that the inclusion of barium sulfate — a radiopaque additive intended to make the catheter visible on imaging — creates microscopic notches at the catheter surface that act as predetermined fracture sites. Over time these microfractures can cause the catheter to crack, migrate, embolize, or harbor bacterial colonization that leads to bloodstream infections, sepsis, and the need for emergency surgical removal.
The FDA MAUDE database documents more than five thousand adverse-event reports involving Bard PowerPort devices, alongside multiple Class II recalls between 2018 and 2021. A peer-reviewed study by the German Federal Institute for Materials Research found that loss of barium sulfate filler particles near the catheter surface creates the same microscopic fracture sites the plaintiffs' engineering theory relies on.
Procedural posture.
Through the first bellwether wave.
On March 5, 2026, Judge Campbell denied nearly all of Bard's summary judgment motion — a significant procedural win for plaintiffs heading into trial. The first bellwether (Cook v. Becton Dickinson, an infection case) is set to begin April 21, 2026. Six bellwether cases cover three infection claims, two thrombus claims, and one fracture claim across the polyurethane, Groshong, and silicone variants of the device.
Additional bellwether trials are scheduled through February 2, 2027, with the second bellwether plaintiff Wanda Miller having died February 2, 2026 — her July 7, 2026 trial date is under review by the court. Daubert and summary judgment briefing has been completed for general causation and for five of the six bellwether cases. The pace of new filings has more than doubled the case count from 2024.
Acquisition. Screening.
Retention.
Bard PowerPort intake requires documentation that the patient was implanted with a qualifying Bard or AngioDynamics port (multiple device models qualify), and that the patient experienced one of the qualifying complications: catheter fracture, migration or embolization of fragments, bloodstream infection or sepsis, deep vein thrombosis, or surgical removal. Cancer-patient histories require careful disentangling of device-related complications from underlying malignancy. We have built docket-specific intake protocols for the medical-record retrieval this docket requires.
Acquisition runs across paid social, paid search, and connected TV, with creative built specifically for this docket and compliance review on every iteration. Every claimant flows through our multi-vendor fraud-detection suite — Anura, CHEQ, ActiveProspect, TrustedForm, Blacklist Alliance, and Plaid — before reaching the partner firm. Retained cases land directly in the firm's case management system in real time.
For partner firms holding PowerPort dockets, we provide standing operational reporting on retained cases delivered, cost per qualified retention, and case-tier mix against your screening criteria. Strategy sessions cover docket-portfolio decisions: how the Cook bellwether and subsequent verdicts reshape case-value expectations across the three injury categories (infection, thrombus, fracture) and across the three device variants in the litigation.
Start a conversation.
Speak with our team.
A LeadClient case-acquisition strategist will reach out to talk through your docket.