Every year, thousands of people trust medical devices to keep them alive, only to discover they have turned into ticking time bombs.
The Bard PowerPort, a device designed to improve medical treatments, has caused severe infections, blood clots, and fractured catheters.
If the Bard PowerPort harmed you, you might have legal options to recover compensation for your injuries and financial losses through a Bard PowerPort lawsuit. Call LitigationConnect, LLC today at (833) 552-7274 or contact us online to discuss your case.
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Overview of the Bard PowerPort Device
Medical devices like the Bard PowerPort promise to make treatments more efficient and less invasive. But as with any innovation, the devil lies in the details, and the PowerPort is no exception.
Purpose and Usage
For patients undergoing repeated intravenous treatments such as chemotherapy, antibiotics, or parenteral nutrition, the repetitive needling of veins wreaks havoc on the body.
The PowerPort provides a stable, long-term solution: a port implanted just beneath the skin and connected to a catheter that feeds directly into a central vein. This allows medical professionals to deliver treatments without constantly poking and prodding fragile veins.
Design Specifications
The PowerPort’s design is deceptively simple.
It consists of two main components:
- The Port: A small, disc-like reservoir placed under the skin, usually in the chest area. The port serves as the entry point for needles and medication.
- The Catheter: A thin tube extending from the port into a major vein, like the superior vena cava, ensuring rapid delivery of medication or fluids.
Bard manufactures the device using Chronoflex polyurethane, a material marketed as durable and resistant to wear. They infuse it with barium sulfate, which makes it visible under imaging—an important feature for placement accuracy and troubleshooting.
While the design has an intuitive appeal, some patients and experts argue that it introduces hidden risks. Material choices, coupled with repeated stress from regular use, have raised questions about the device’s reliability.
For example, polyurethane’s interaction with bodily fluids and pressures can lead to degradation over time, which might explain some of the complications users report.
The concept of a long-term port is sound—having fewer needle sticks and easier access to veins changes lives for people with chronic conditions. But as lawsuits and complaints pile up, it’s worth questioning whether Bard’s execution of the idea matched its ambition.
Reported Complications and Side Effects
Medical devices are supposed to make life easier. They’re engineered, tested, and marketed as solutions—tools to fix problems, not create new ones. But the Bard PowerPort has left many patients grappling with more than just their original conditions.
Infections
For all the talk of medical advancements, the human body has never been thrilled about foreign objects. Infections linked to the Bard PowerPort occur when bacteria exploit even the tiniest breach.
Redness, swelling, and persistent pain around the port are the first signs. But sometimes, it doesn’t stop there.
Severe infections like sepsis don’t play nice. When bacteria enter the bloodstream, the immune system’s fight-or-flight mode turns into a full-scale war, damaging organs in the process.
Cases of sepsis tied to the Bard PowerPort have pushed patients into intensive care or worse. Federal guidelines under 21 CFR § 820 (Quality System Regulation) require manufacturers to mitigate infection risks in device design. Yet, these reports suggest something was missed.
Catheter Fractures: When the Highway Breaks Down
The Bard PowerPort catheter isn’t some flimsy piece of plastic—it’s supposed to withstand constant use. But fractures have turned this supposed breakthrough into a safety hazard. Imagine a piece of the catheter snapping off and drifting through your veins. That’s what some patients have faced.
Catheter fragments pose serious threats. They’ve been found lodged in veins, blocking blood flow, and even perforating internal organs. Removing these fragments involves complex procedures—sometimes emergency surgeries.
Devices cleared under FDA’s 510(k) process, like the Bard PowerPort, must meet specific safety standards. Yet fractured catheters indicate potential design flaws or material failures that could have been avoided.
Thrombosis
Thrombosis—the formation of blood clots inside blood vessels or the heart—doesn’t announce itself with flashing lights or alarms. Instead, it quietly builds in the veins around the catheter, transforming routine blood flow into a clogged mess.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can develop, putting patients at risk for a pulmonary embolism if the clot travels to the lungs. According to a study, catheters with poor biocompatibility increase the likelihood of clot formation. Given the frequency of thrombosis complaints, Bard’s choice of materials and design deserves a closer look.
Device Migration
A medical implant that stays where it’s put sounds like a baseline expectation, but the Bard PowerPort has a habit of shifting out of place. Patients have reported the device migrating from its original location, sometimes pressing against bones or puncturing nearby tissues.
Migration risks increase when ports aren’t anchored properly during implantation, or when mechanical forces push the device over time. These migrations can interfere with its function, making something as simple as administering medication unnecessarily painful—or impossible.
Pinch-Off Syndrome
Pinch-off syndrome hides in plain sight. It happens when the catheter gets compressed between the clavicle and the first rib, leading to restricted flow and eventual damage.
For Bard PowerPort users, this condition doesn’t just create inconvenience; it puts the entire device at risk of failure.
The FDA has flagged pinch-off syndrome in several medical device safety alerts. Once the catheter suffers repeated compression, fractures and leaks follow, potentially exposing patients to serious complications. Bard’s design and implantation protocols seem to leave users vulnerable to this preventable issue.
Legal Actions and Litigation Landscape
Patients across the country are taking legal action, alleging that the device's defects left them injured, disabled, or worse.
Multidistrict Litigation: The Cases Come Together
By August 2023, the mounting complaints against Bard PowerPort had grown too large to handle individually.
The cases consolidated into Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 3081 in the District of Arizona under Judge David G. Campbell. MDLs like this one exist to streamline the legal process when hundreds—or thousands—of plaintiffs share similar claims.
MDLs allow both sides to hash out common legal and factual issues, like whether the PowerPort’s design defects caused harm or whether Bard’s failure to warn patients was negligent.
While individual cases remain separate, decisions in bellwether trials can shape how the other lawsuits proceed.
Claims Against Bard: What’s at Stake
The lawsuits don’t stop at generic complaints about injury. They dig into Bard’s choices at every level of the PowerPort’s development and marketing.
Plaintiffs argue that Bard made decisions that put profits ahead of patient safety, and they’re backing those claims with allegations like these:
- Defective Design: Lawsuits allege that the PowerPort’s materials and structural design made it prone to fracturing, migrating, and other failures. For instance, plaintiffs claim that the Chronoflex polyurethane used in the catheter was too brittle to withstand long-term use.
- Failure to Warn: Patients argue that Bard downplayed the risks of complications, leaving doctors and patients without the full picture. Without adequate warnings, informed consent becomes little more than a legal formality.
- Negligence: Plaintiffs assert that Bard didn’t do enough testing to uncover the PowerPort’s flaws before releasing it to the market. Under product liability laws in many states, manufacturers must ensure their products are safe when used as intended.
Legal Developments: A High-Stakes Showdown
As of late 2024, the MDL has entered a critical phase: the preparation for bellwether trials. These early cases, chosen for their ability to reflect common issues among the plaintiffs, will set the tone for the litigation.
If juries side with the injured patients, Bard may face pressure to settle. If not, the cases may drag on, giving Bard more leverage.
Settlement talks have already started behind the scenes. Multimillion-dollar payouts are on the table, but nothing has been finalized.
Plaintiffs want more than just money—they want accountability. And they want Bard to admit that something went very wrong with the PowerPort.
What the Law Requires
Product liability laws set the standard for what patients can expect from medical devices. Under strict liability doctrines, manufacturers like Bard are on the hook if their products are unreasonably dangerous, regardless of whether negligence occurred.
Federal law also plays a role. The FDA’s premarket approval process requires manufacturers to demonstrate a device’s safety and efficacy, but the 510(k) clearance pathway—which Bard used—only requires a device substantially equivalent to one already on the market.
Plaintiffs argue this loophole let Bard bypass rigorous testing, creating a perfect storm of defective devices and injured patients.
How to Determine If You're Eligible to Take Legal Action
Step 1: Confirm Device Use
You can’t sue over a defective Bard PowerPort if you never had one. While this sounds obvious, medical records don’t always tell the full story at first glance.
Start by asking your healthcare provider if they implanted a Bard PowerPort during your treatment—and not something else. Hospital discharge papers, surgical notes, or even billing codes could confirm the device’s involvement.
Step 2: Identify the Complications
Having a Bard PowerPort alone isn’t enough. The next step is connecting your injuries or complications to the device itself, like:
- Infections requiring hospitalization or surgical intervention.
- Catheter fractures, where pieces of the device migrated or caused damage.
- Blood clots or thrombosis near the catheter site.
- Device migration resulting in pain or additional surgery.
Document everything—dates of treatment, symptoms, and diagnoses. Medical records detailing these issues create the foundation of your claim, showing that your injuries weren’t just random but stemmed directly from the PowerPort’s flaws.
Step 3: Gather Medical Evidence
Lawsuits hinge on evidence, and medical evidence carries the most weight in product liability cases. Diagnostic imaging, such as X-rays or ultrasounds, might reveal fractured catheters or migrated devices. Blood test results could support infection claims.
If you underwent emergency surgery to address PowerPort-related complications, make sure your attorney has access to operative reports. These records illustrate the severity of the issue and demonstrate how the device’s failure created additional harm.
Step 4: Evaluate the Time Frame
Every state imposes a deadline for filing lawsuits, known as the statute of limitations. Missing this window means forfeiting your chance to hold Bard accountable.
For example:
- California: Plaintiffs typically have two years from the date of injury to file a product liability claim under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1.
- New York: The limit stretches to three years under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214.
In medical device cases, the clock sometimes starts when you discover the injury, not when the device was implanted. If your PowerPort caused complications years after surgery, consult an attorney to determine how the discovery rule applies.
Step 5: Consult with Legal Professionals
Once you have documentation of your Bard PowerPort, its complications, and the medical fallout, it’s time to consult an attorney. Medical device litigation isn’t DIY work.
Our network of lawyers understand how to:
- Subpoena Bard’s internal documents to uncover known risks they didn’t disclose.
- Hire medical experts to testify about the connection between your injuries and the device.
- Navigate the procedural requirements of MDL cases or individual lawsuits.
While you focus on recovery, a skilled attorney builds the case, proving that Bard’s negligence or defective design caused your injuries.
Step 6: Quantify the Financial Impact
Injuries aren’t just physical—they take a financial toll. Gather records of:
- Medical bills for hospitalization, surgery, or medications.
- Lost wages if your complications kept you from working.
- Long-term care expenses, like physical therapy or home modifications.
Economic losses become part of the damages you seek in your claim, alongside compensation for the pain and suffering the PowerPort inflicted.
Take Action and Hold Bard Accountable
If the Bard PowerPort harms you, you don’t have to face the aftermath alone. Let us fight for the compensation you deserve.
Call LitigationConnect, LLC at Call us today at (833) 552-7274 or contact us online today, and take the first step toward reclaiming what you’ve lost.