A federal jury has awarded $40 million to a woman who suffered serious injuries after her implanted Bard port catheter fractured and a piece of the device became lodged in her heart. The verdict is significant not only for Divelbliss, but also for the broader Bard Powerport device litigation.

The unanimous verdict came after a three-week trial in Phoenix and marks the first plaintiff verdict in the federal Bard implanted port catheter multidistrict litigation. Wagstaff & Cartmell partner Brandon Henry served as one of the lead trial lawyers representing plaintiff Kimberly Divelbliss.

Thousands of claims involving implanted port catheters have been centralized for coordinated proceedings, with additional bellwether trials scheduled as the litigation moves forward. Contact Wagstaff & Cartmell to speak with a mass tort attorney if you sustained injuries from a Bard implanted port catheter.

What Happened in This Bard Port Lawsuit?

Divelbliss received a Bard PowerPort with a Groshong silicone catheter. The device was intended to provide repeated access to her vascular system without requiring a new IV each time treatment or blood work was needed.

About two years after the device was implanted, the catheter fractured. A piece of the catheter traveled through her vascular system and became lodged in her heart.

Removing the fragment required surgery. Divelbliss subsequently experienced cardiac arrhythmias and heart attacks and required additional cardiac procedures and medication.

She initially filed suit in New Mexico state court in 2022, bringing claims that included design defect, failure to warn, manufacturing defect, and fraudulent concealment. Her case was later transferred to federal court and became part of MDL No. 3081 (In re: Bard Implanted Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Following the trial, the nine-member jury unanimously found in Divelbliss’s favor on claims involving negligent and strict-liability design defect and failure to warn. The jury awarded her $40 million in compensatory damages. It did not find Bard liable for fraudulent concealment and did not award punitive damages.

“This verdict does a few things. Most importantly, it recognizes everything Kim has been through,” Henry said following the verdict. “She stood up not just for herself, but for every patient this device has hurt and still could.”

Why Are Patients Filing Bard Implanted Port Catheter Lawsuits?

The federal Bard implanted port catheter lawsuits involve allegations that certain Bard port systems were defectively designed or accompanied by inadequate warnings.

One of the central concerns raised in these cases involves catheter fracture. When part of an implanted catheter breaks, the separated fragment may migrate through the bloodstream. Depending on where it travels, removal can require an additional medical procedure and may result in serious complications.

In Divelbliss’s case, the catheter fragment became lodged in her heart. Her attorneys argued at trial that Bard had years to address risks associated with the device or provide adequate warnings about those risks.

The jury ultimately agreed with Divelbliss on her design defect and failure-to-warn claims.

That does not mean every Bard port complication will result in a successful lawsuit. Each claim depends on the particular device involved, what happened to it, the patient’s injuries, medical records, and other evidence.

Why This $40 Million Bellwether Verdict Is So Important

Divelbliss’s case was the second bellwether trial in the federal Bard port MDL and the first to result in a plaintiff verdict.

Bellwether trials are selected cases tried while a large group of similar lawsuits is being coordinated in an MDL. They do not automatically determine the outcome of the remaining cases. Instead, they allow both sides to see how juries respond to evidence, expert testimony, legal theories, and defenses that may arise repeatedly throughout the litigation.

The first Bard implanted port bellwether ended with a partial defense verdict and a partial hung jury. Divelbliss’s $40 million verdict therefore provides another important data point as the litigation progresses.

Additional bellwether trials are scheduled to follow.

What Is a Bard Powerport?

The Bard Powerport is a medical device placed beneath the skin to provide long-term access to a patient’s vascular system. The device includes a small port connected to a catheter that carries medications or other fluids into a blood vessel.

Ports are commonly used by patients who need frequent treatment or blood draws. For example, they may be used to administer:

• Chemotherapy and other medications
• IV fluids
• Parenteral nutrition
• Blood products
• Contrast used for certain imaging procedures

They can also be used to draw blood.

For patients undergoing cancer treatment or managing other serious medical conditions, an implanted port may remain in place for months or years. That makes the safety and durability of both the port and its catheter particularly important.

Injuries Associated With a Failed Implanted Port Catheter

The injuries involved in a Bard Powerport lawsuit can vary substantially depending on how the device allegedly failed and where a catheter fragment traveled.

A fractured or separated catheter may require an additional procedure to retrieve the fragment or remove and replace the implanted port. Potential complications alleged in these cases may include:

• Catheter fracture or separation
• Migration of a catheter fragment
• Cardiac complications when a fragment reaches the heart
• Additional surgery or other procedures
• Pain and other physical injuries
• Ongoing medical treatment

Anyone experiencing possible problems with an implanted port catheter should seek medical care. Determining whether an injury may also support a legal claim generally requires a separate review of the patient’s medical history, the implanted device, and the circumstances surrounding its failure.

Who May Be Eligible to File a Bard Port Lawsuit?

You should speak with an attorney at Wagstaff & Cartmell if an implanted Bard port catheter fractured, migrated, separated, or otherwise allegedly failed and caused an injury.

Identifying the specific device is an important part of evaluating a potential claim. Medical records may contain information about the manufacturer, product model, implantation date, and any procedures performed after complications occurred.

Wagstaff & Cartmell can also evaluate whether the circumstances fit within the allegations being made in the Bard implanted port catheter litigation and determine what filing deadlines may apply.

How Can a Defective Medical Products Lawyer Help?

Medical device cases are rarely limited to showing that a patient was injured while using a particular product. A defective medical products lawyer must investigate what happened to the device and develop evidence connecting the alleged defect or inadequate warning to the patient’s injuries.

That can involve reviewing implantation and treatment records, identifying the precise product involved, preserving device evidence when available, examining regulatory and company records, working with medical and technical experts, and evaluating the damages caused by the device failure.

Cases involving products used by patients nationwide may also become part of multidistrict litigation. An attorney familiar with complex medical product litigation can help determine where a case belongs and how developments in the broader litigation may affect an individual claim.

Wagstaff & Cartmell Represents Patients in Bard Port Litigation

Wagstaff & Cartmell represents clients in complex product liability and defective medical product litigation nationwide. If you or a loved one suffered serious complications after a Bard implanted port catheter fractured, migrated, or otherwise failed, contact Wagstaff & Cartmell to learn more about your legal options.