Lawsuits have been filed by people who were hospitalized when their Bard PowerPort broke, cracked, leaked medication, or stopped working and needed surgery.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Bard PowerPort induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured by a Bard PowerPort that broke, leaked, or needed surgery, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
UPDATE: Bard PowerPort Lawsuit Filed by Woman With Blood Clots
In February 2023, a lawsuit was filed by a woman from Missouri who developed blood clots and had to have her Bard PowerPort removed with an emergency surgery only 3 weeks after it was implanted.
The plaintiff, Patrice T., was implanted with a Bard PowerPort Single Lumen ClearVue Implantable Port in March 2022 to make it easier to receive chemotherapy for her colon cancer. Unfortunately, only about 3 weeks after the PowerPort was implanted, she was hospitalized with life-threatening blood clots (also known as a “thromboembolism”).
According to her lawsuit, the catheter on the Bard PowerPort is defective because manufacturing errors have “led to an irregular catheter surface replete with fissures, pits and cracks.” Furthermore, “the roughened catheter surface leads to the collection and proliferation of fibrous blood products, thereby drastically increasing the risk of thromboembolism.”
The lawsuit was filed February 10, 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri — Case Number 4:23-cv-00100-BP.
What is the Bard Power Port?
The Bard PowerPort is a medical device that is also called a “port-a-cath.” The port is implanted under the skin and connected to a catheter tube that empties into a vein. The port provides healthcare professionals with an easy access point to deliver medications, IV fluids, nutrition, blood products, or to draw blood samples.
The Bard PowerPort and similar devices are typically implanted in patients who need repeated IV medications, fluids, or blood draws for conditions like cancer, Crohn’s disease, severe infections, kidney failure, IBD, and more.
What is the Problem?
Lawsuits have been filed by people who claim that the Bard PowerPort is defective because the catheter tube can crack, leak medications, and increase the risk of infections, blood clots, internal bleeding due to damaged blood vessels, organ damage, or death.
Lawsuit Claims PowerPort Catheter Tube Can Crack
The catheter tube on the Bard PowerPort is made of a flexible polyurethane (plastic) material called Chronoflex®.
According to a recent lawsuit, manufacturing defects with the catheter can lead to “an irregular catheter surface replete with fissures, pits and cracks.” The rough surface of the catheter also drastically increases the risk of thromboembolism, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit was filed by Mary N., a woman from Missouri who was implatned with a Bard PowerPort in February 2021 for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. About two weeks later, the PowerPort stopped functioning and she was hospitalized with a bloodstream infection.
Her lawsuit was filed against C.R. Bard Inc. and Becton, Dickinson and Company on February 28, 2023 — Case Number 2:23-cv-01173-SDW-MAH.
What is the Risk?
- Catheter leaks, breaks, or cracks
- Perforations of internal organs, tissues, or blood vessels
- Hemorrhage (bleeding)
- Cardiac / pericardial tamponade
- Cardiac arrhythmia
- Heart attack symptoms
- Pain
- Infections
- Sepsis (bloodstream infections)
- Thromboembolism (blood clots)
- Death
Bard PowerPort Recall (2021)
In March 2021, Bard initiated a Class II recall for certain PowerPort Duo M.R.I. Implantable Ports due to problems with the catheter. According to the recall, “catheters may experience difficulty in flushing, infusion, and/or aspiration, and septum dislodgements.”
Do I have a Bard PowerPort Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Bard PowerPort induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured by a Bard PowerPort that broke, leaked, or needed surgery, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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