For patients who need repeated IV treatment, an implanted port, also known as totally implanted venous access devices, can make months or even years of medical care easier. But what happens when the device designed to provide access to a vein breaks, shifts, or fails?
That question is at the center of a growing number of defective medical device lawsuits involving Bard PowerPorts. More than 3,700 cases are now pending in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), and new filings are still being made.
Plaintiffs allege the access port is defective, causing injuries from catheter fractures, migration, and infections.
While the jury in the first bellwether trial didn’t reach a decision on whether the device has a defect, the second Bard PowerPort trial ended in early September and resulted in a $40 million jury award. The case involved a patient whose port catheter fractured, and a roughly seven-inch portion of it traveled to and pierced the right side of her heart.
The plaintiff’s success shows that one trial doesn’t automatically determine the outcome of others in the Bard PowerPort MDL.
As awareness of the legal battle continues to grow, so have concerns among patients and their families.
Here’s how PowerPorts and similar devices work, what happens when catheters break and why, symptoms of failure, and how this all connects to the current defective device lawsuits.
Note: Any concerns or questions patients have about their access port should be discussed directly with their doctor or health team. The following is for informational purposes only.
How Access Ports Work
Sometimes called a Port-a-Cath, an implanted port consists of a small reservoir placed under the skin with a connected catheter that travels into a large vein. This allows healthcare providers to administer medication or draw blood by inserting a needle into the port.
They’re commonly used for people who need repeated or long-term intravenous treatment, including chemotherapy. Devices like the Bard PowerPort can also be used to administer other medications, fluids or blood products.
Chemo ports are supposed to stay in place while needed, which means a catheter can spend months or years inside the body, exposed to repeated movement and mechanical forces.
What Happens When a Port Catheter Breaks?
When a catheter breaks, it doesn’t necessarily remain where it was originally placed.
If a section separates, the bloodstream can carry fragments farther into the vascular system. When this involves a broken catheter, it’s often referred to as catheter embolization or migration. But where, exactly, do fractured access ports travel to?
One intravascular catheter embolization study reviewed 215 cases and found that about 28% of fragments were located in the right atrium, 22% in the right ventricle, and 35% in pulmonary arteries. Most fragments were ultimately removed through a catheter-based procedure rather than open surgery.
Potential complications of port fractures include abnormal heart rhythms, blood clots, infection, blood-vessel injury and, in serious cases, perforation.
In other words, a medical device that started as a way to make treatment easier can become a foreign object moving through the cardiovascular system. This is what allegedly happened to the plaintiff in the second federal Bard PowerPort trial.
Signs of Access Port Failure
Unfortunately, patients with a defective or failed implanted port may not know there’s a problem because they don’t always experience symptoms.
Catheter fractures are sometimes discovered because the port stops functioning properly; a healthcare provider may be unable to draw blood from it or notice a problem while attempting to flush or use the device.
In some cases, there are warning signs of access port failure, including pain or discomfort along the port or catheter pathway, swelling, changes in how it functions, or problems during infusion. But not all patients experience signs or symptoms when there’s a problem with their medical port.
In the catheter embolization study previously noted, researchers found that 24.2% of reported cases were asymptomatic. Another study of catheter fractures had similar findings, and for those who had little or no symptoms, fractures were discovered through medical imaging.
There are other chemo access port issues, such as blockage, infection or a blood clot that can cause similar concerns, so it’s always best to seek the advice of and be assessed by a healthcare professional. Any unexpected change involving an implanted device should be discussed with a patient’s healthcare team.
Why Do Implanted Port Catheters Fracture?
There is no single explanation for every catheter fracture, but one well-known complication that doesn’t involve a defect is pinch-off syndrome. This can occur when a catheter placed through the subclavian vein becomes compressed between the clavicle and first rib.
Repeated compression can damage it over time and eventually contribute to a fracture. The FDA lists catheter damage or breakage in this way among possible complications of implanted ports. The defendants in the Bard PowerPort lawsuits have suggested this as the cause of many plaintiffs’ failed devices.
Researchers have also identified other potential contributors or causes of access port breakage, including catheter aging, mechanical stress, connection problems, and excessive pressure inside the device. These factors make cases involving allegedly defective medical devices extremely complex.
Given the possible causes of catheter fractures, attorneys handling product liability lawsuits like those involving Bard PowerPorts face a specific liability challenge: Was the device damaged because of how or where it was implanted, how it was used, or from ordinary wear and mechanical stress? Or was there an issue with the device itself, like a design or manufacturing defect?
What’s Happening with the Bard PowerPort Trials?
The second Bard PowerPort trial was significant because it was the first in the MDL to directly test allegations that a defect caused the plaintiff’s injuries. She needed emergency surgery after the catheter fractured, migrated, and pierced her heart.
Now that the trial is over, which awarded the plaintiff $40 million, all eyes are turning to what comes next.
The final three Bard PowerPort bellwether trials are scheduled for October 13, 2026, December 1, 2026, and February 2, 2027.
These trials don’t decide the claims of all 3,700+ plaintiffs in the medical access port litigation, but the outcome may set the stage for settlement negotiations and shape future lawsuits.
It's important to note that while there are thousands of cases in the implanted access port litigation, it doesn’t mean that every port is defective or likely to fail. These are widely used medical devices, and serious mechanical complications are still quite uncommon.
