Mass Torts to Watch in 2022

After a pandemic-induced quiet year in 2020, last year saw a lot of action on the mass tort front. In 2021, we saw $11 billion in Roundup settlements and over a dozen bellwether test trials in various MDL class action lawsuits.

It appears 2022 will be a very eventful year for mass torts. We could see global settlements in two or maybe three major mass tort MDLs, including the biggest of them all, the 3M Earplugs MDL.

Let’s talk about what we can expect in 2022 in the mass tort class action lawsuits with the highest predicted settlement payouts.

Merrimack-based Atrium Medical announces settlement in hernia mesh litigation

Company’s Swedish parent reaches tentative deal in giant New Hampshire mass tort suit
Atrium Medical Corp. in Merrimack has settled litigation over its hernia mesh implants in what may be one the largest mass tort suits ever heard in New Hampshire courts.

The settlement has not been finalized or released, but Gitinge Group, Atrium’s Swedish parent company, announced on Dec. 8 that it has set aside the equivalent of more than $66 million to deal with the New Hampshire mesh litigation.

“I am pleased that we can put this behind us and fully focus on our core business,” said Mattias Perjos, CEO of Getinge, in a press release.

The lawsuits, which date back to 2016, were filed in U.S. District Court in Concord, often constituting the bulk of the cases on the docket. More than 3,000 short complaints were filed in New Hampshire, 16 in the last week. Nearly all

Hernia Mesh Litigation: Where Things Stand

Progress invites criticism, and in surgery, innovation often begets litigation, as most every surgeon whose practice involves mesh-reinforced hernia repair can attest.

“The ads for hernia mesh lawsuits are everywhere, and if you Google ‘hernia mesh lawsuit,’ you’ll see ad after ad after ad for lawyers. We face it every day in our offices; it’s ubiquitous,” said Guy Voeller MD, at the 2021 virtual Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Conference. Dr. Voeller is a professor of surgery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, in Memphis.

“But the problem with mesh in hernia repair is that we have to have it; trying to repair many hernias with suture alone is doomed to failure.”

Mesh is now the standard of care in hernia repair for its ability to reduce the rate of recurrence dramatically. But it’s also become a target for lawsuits. What started with a smattering of cases in the 2000s

C.R. Bard Faces First Bellwether Trial Over Hernia Mesh Injuries

C.R. Bard, Inc. is one of many medical device companies involved in large nationwide litigation concerning defective hernia mesh products. C.R. Bard, Inc. faces more than 25,000 lawsuits in state and federal courts, with the first trial in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) fully underway.

Before trials begin in mass tort litigation, the parties propose what cases should go to trial first as a way of determining how a jury is likely to decide in a typical hernia mesh lawsuit. In the first bellwether trial, the plaintiff alleges that he suffered pain, inflammation, infection, and the need for revision surgery because of the defective and dangerous nature of C.R. Bard, Inc’s hernia mesh products.

Medical Device Sales Representatives Play a Role in Patient Injuries, Investigation Reveals

A recent Kaiser Health News investigation, as reported by Modern Healthcare, demonstrates that medical device sales representatives for various products play a substantial role in patient injuries. Whether the medical device at issue is for a spinal procedure, a hip replacement procedure, or a hernia mesh procedure, a sales representative is likely standing in the operating room.

Scroll to Top
Skip to content