Hernia mesh litigation isn’t one lawsuit — it’s several, moving at different speeds against different manufacturers. If you or a family member had a hernia repaired with mesh and later needed additional surgery to fix complications, where your case stands depends heavily on which company made the mesh.
Two Manufacturers, Two Different Stages of Litigation
Four separate federal multidistrict litigations (MDLs) have been consolidated against the major hernia mesh manufacturers — Bard/Davol, Covidien (Medtronic), Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson), and Atrium — representing tens of thousands of claims nationwide. The two most active right now are Bard/Davol and Covidien, and they are at very different points in the process.
The Bard/Davol Settlement (MDL 2846)
The Bard and Davol polypropylene hernia mesh cases were consolidated as MDL 2846 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, before Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. Bard’s parent company, Becton, Dickinson and Company, has reached a settlement framework covering the large majority of the pending inventory, and the court has established a Qualified Settlement Fund to hold and administer payments as claims are reviewed. If you already have a pending Bard or Davol mesh claim, this generally means your case has moved from active litigation into a claims-review and payment process rather than trial — though the exact timeline and amount depend on your individual injury and documentation.
The Covidien (Medtronic) Litigation Is Still in Active Trial
Unlike the Bard settlement, the Covidien hernia mesh MDL has not resolved. A bellwether trial — a test case used to help both sides gauge how juries value these claims — began in mid-2026, the second such trial in that litigation. If your hernia mesh injury involved a Covidien or Medtronic-brand product, your case is likely still in active litigation rather than a settlement program, which generally means there’s more time and more reason to make sure your claim is filed correctly and promptly.
What the FDA Has Said About Hernia Mesh Complications
The FDA’s own safety information on surgical mesh used for hernia repair lists the adverse events it monitors: pain, infection, hernia recurrence, adhesion, bowel obstruction, fistula formation, fluid buildup (seroma), and mesh migration or perforation. The agency continuously reviews adverse event reports from patients, providers, and manufacturers, and encourages anyone experiencing a problem to report it directly through the FDA’s MedWatch program. Thousands of individual hernia mesh products have been recalled since 2005, most as Class 2 recalls involving a reasonable probability of temporary or reversible health consequences.
What Qualifies as a Hernia Mesh Injury Claim
Not every hernia mesh complication automatically supports a lawsuit, and not every mesh brand is part of these MDLs. Whether you have a viable claim depends on specifics: which manufacturer made the mesh used in your surgery, what complication you experienced, whether it required a second (revision) surgery, and when that complication was diagnosed. This is not something to self-assess from general symptoms — it requires pulling your actual surgical and device records.
What to Do If You Haven’t Filed Yet
If you’re not sure whether your mesh is part of an active MDL, or whether your complications and timeline would support a claim, the practical first step is identifying the exact device used in your surgery from your medical records. Our hernia mesh attorneys can help you confirm the manufacturer, check where that litigation currently stands, and tell you plainly what your options look like from there.
