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Third Bard PowerPort bellwether trial opens as bifurcated infection case
Responsible attorney: Lou Schwartz, Schwartz & Associates, PC, Atlanta, Georgia. intake@snalawyers.com
The third bellwether trial in the Bard implanted port catheter MDL (MDL 3081) began October 13, 2026, before the federal judge overseeing the litigation in the District of Arizona. The plaintiff, a Florida woman who received her PowerPort implant in 2013, alleges the device caused a serious infection and brings claims for design defect, failure to warn, and fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation. The trial is split into two phases, with jurors first deciding liability before any punitive-damages phase, following a defense verdict in the first bellwether trial and a $40 million plaintiff verdict in the second.
Why it matters. The verdict will be the second data point on infection-based claims in a docket of roughly 4,100 pending PowerPort cases and will further inform how both sides value remaining claims.
Update, Oct. 13, 2026: MDL trial tracking shows the bifurcated infection bellwether (Lattanzio v. Becton, Dickinson) opened as scheduled and is set to run through Oct. 30, 2026, before Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves sitting by designation in the District of Arizona.
Sources
- AboutLawsuits.com secondary
- MDL Update bellwether tracker secondary
Briefs summarize public developments. Unless stated otherwise, the firm is not counsel in the matters described, and allegations are not findings.
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