Maryland Injury Law Center
August 2021 Update: These Kugel hernia mesh cases settled for an average of about $70,000 for each victim. The new hernia mesh cases involve Bard and two others:
As I write this on August 23, 2021, there is a trial in the MDL from a Utah plaintiff who suffered a great deal after using the Ventralight hernia mesh patch. This trial is likely to have a real impact on the future settlement value of the hernia mesh cases.
The Kugel hernia mesh patch is used to repair ventral hernias. There are over 750,000 hernia operations each year in the U.S. C.R. Bard, Inc. manufactures the Kugel hernia mesh patch. C.R.’s subsidiary, Davol, Inc., owns the device’s patent.
The Kugel hernia mesh patch comprises two pieces of mesh that surround a flexible plastic ring. The surgeon places the mesh patch in a small incision. The surgeon would fold the patch and place it at the site of the hernia. The released ring would then spring back into its original shape, flattening the patch. The mesh-like material would serve as a substrate, allowing the hernia patient’s own tissue to grow and help heal the hernia.
The Kugel Mesh Patch can break, however, leading to bowel perforations and chronic intestinal fistulae. These are very serious conditions that pose a significant health risk to Kugel hernia patch patients. The problem with the Kugel hernia patch is that the plastic component could break and cut through a patient’s internal organs and tissue. The FDA has received reports of over 80 injuries and other problems possibly related to it, including several fatalities. Our Kugel hernia patch lawyers expect an increasing number of reports of injuries in the weeks and months to come.
In late 2005, C.R. Bard sent out a recall on the Kugel patch, urging doctors to stop using some versions of the product, because a plastic component could break and cut through a patient’s internal organs and tissue. Our Kugel patch lawyers believe that, at least by this time, C.R. Bard knew or should have known, that other lots and versions were also implicated, both because of the evidence available to them, and because all the Kugel patches had the same or similar memory recoil ring, which was causing the defect in the Kugel patches. Our Kugel mesh hernia patch lawyers expect that more, if not all, of the patches, will eventually be recalled.
Since December, there have been three separate recalls of different models of the Kugel patch. The FDA says surgeons and hospitals should immediately stop using the recalled patches and return the unused patches to the company. Patients who received one of the recalled Kugel devices should consult their doctor or surgeon. You should seek immediate medical attention if you are experiencing persistent and/or unexplained abdominal pain, fever, tenderness, or any painful lumps or bulges at the site of the Kugel implant/surgery, or any other unusual symptoms.
Kugel Mesh Settlements
In 2010, there was a $1.5 million verdict in a Kugel mesh case in federal court. CR Bard ultimately agreed to settle for nearly $200 million dollars to resolve over 2,500 lawsuits. Again, this averaged out to about $70,000 per victim.
My thinking, and it is just my prediction, is these new hernia mesh lawsuits resolve for settlement amounts that are similar to the first settlement, perhaps a bit higher.