Products Liability Law Reporter

Paul Trevino developed an incarcerated hernia after undergoing surgery. In 2008, he underwent hernia repair surgery performed by a general surgeon in Hawaii. During the procedure, which was deemed successful, the surgeon implanted a Ventralex Hernia Patch manufactured by C.R. Bard, Inc.

In 2017, while Trevino was undergoing a laparoscopic hernia repair surgery on an unrelated hernia, his treating surgeon explanted the Ventralex Hernia Patch, which allegedly had migrated to and eroded into Trevino’s bowel, causing adhesions, a small bowel obstruction, and severe pain. He required a bowel resection and developed a fistula, necessitating multiple rounds of wound debridement.

Trevino and his wife sued C.R. Bard, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, Davol, Inc., alleging negligence and other claims. The plaintiffs asserted that Bard had made the Ventralex using a dangerous grade of polypropylene material not meant for implantation in humans and that the defendants had failed to perform adequate biocompatibility testing on the Ventralex.

The jury awarded $4.8 million.

Citation: Trevino v. Davol, Inc., No. PC-2018-8437 (R.I. Super. Ct. Providence/Bristol Cty. Aug. 29, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Donald Migliori, Jonathan Orent, Vincent Greene IV, Michael Rousseau, Dennis Costigan, Christina Behm, and Kate Menard, all of Providence, R.I.; AAJ members Grace Chandler, Annie Kouba, Laura Stemkowski, and Hank Young, all of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Katherine Charonko, Charleston, W. Va.; and Brian McAlister and Elizabeth Stryker, both of Morgantown, W. Va.