Medical device lawsuit guide

MDL vs class action: what's the difference for device injury cases?

Class action vs mass tort, explained with the Philips CPAP, hernia mesh and Bard port catheter cases.

Last reviewed October 29, 2026

Start with the quick answer Questions readers ask

An implant, surgical mesh, a port catheter and the box it ships in.

Key takeaways

In a multidistrict litigation (MDL), similar lawsuits from around the country go to one federal judge for pretrial work, but each injured person keeps an individual case and an individual outcome. In a class action, a few representatives sue for a whole group, and the result binds every member who did not opt out. Most device injury cases are MDLs. Class actions are more common for money-loss claims.

An MDL groups individual cases for pretrial work. Each case can be sent back to its original court for trial.
A class action binds every class member who got notice and did not opt out, win or lose.
The Philips CPAP MDL used both: class settlements for money-loss and medical monitoring claims, and a separate $1.075 billion program for injuries.
"Mass tort" is the everyday term for many individual injury suits against the same company. In federal court, they are usually grouped in an MDL.
Bellwether trials are early trials of selected MDL cases. The Bard port catheter MDL scheduled six of them from April 2026 to February 2027.

The difference in one table

Both MDLs and class actions bring many similar cases together. They differ in who owns the case and who is bound by the result.

	MDL (multidistrict litigation)	Class action
Legal basis	28 U.S.C. § 1407	Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23
Who sues	Each injured person files their own lawsuit	A few representatives sue for the whole class
Do injuries need to match?	No. The panel has rejected the idea that product cases must allege identical injuries.	The class must share common questions, and the representatives’ claims must be typical of the group.
Who decides to group cases	The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML)	The trial judge, who certifies the class
What is grouped	Pretrial work: evidence exchange, scheduling and motions	The whole case, through judgment or settlement
Trial	Each case is sent back to its original court at or before the end of pretrial work	One trial or settlement for the class
Who is bound by the result	Only the parties in each case	Every member who got notice and did not opt out
Typical device use	Personal injury claims	Money-loss and medical monitoring claims

How an MDL works

Congress created the MDL process in 28 U.S.C. § 1407. It lets the JPML move civil cases that share “one or more common questions of fact” to one federal court. That court handles “coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.” The law says each case “shall be remanded” to its original court at or before the end of pretrial work.

In plain terms, one judge manages discovery and key rulings for everyone. You still have your own lawsuit. Your damages depend on your own injuries, records and losses.

The panel does not require identical injuries. In the June 2026 order creating the Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator MDL, it “rejected the argument that products liability actions must allege identical injuries to warrant centralization.” The same order declined to put every stimulator maker in one MDL. It grouped only the Boston Scientific cases.

How a class action works

A class action works under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. One or more representatives sue on behalf of everyone in the class. The court must find four things first:

Numerosity. The class is too large to bring every member in as a party.
Commonality. The members share common questions of law or fact.
Typicality. The claims of the representatives look like the claims of the rest of the class.
Adequacy. The representatives will fairly protect the class.

The result binds the group. In a Rule 23(b)(3) class, the judgment binds every member who got notice and did not ask to be excluded. That is true whether the outcome is good or bad for the class.

Class action vs mass tort

“Mass tort” is not a formal court procedure. It is the everyday term for a large number of individual injury lawsuits against the same company over the same product. In federal court, these lawsuits are usually grouped in an MDL. Many also run in state courts that coordinate similar cases.

Hernia mesh shows both. As of June 10, 2026, Medtronic counted about 10,350 Covidien hernia mesh plaintiffs. About 7,450 were in Massachusetts state court, about 500 in Minnesota state court and about 2,400 in the federal MDL. BD said most of its open Bard hernia claims are in a Rhode Island state coordinated proceeding and the Ohio MDL.

	Mass tort	Class action
Who is a party	Every injured person who files	Representatives, for the class
How damages are set	Person by person	Under the class judgment or settlement terms
Can you leave?	You decide whether to settle your own case	In a (b)(3) class, you must opt out or be bound
Device example	Bard and Covidien hernia mesh	Philips CPAP economic-loss settlement

Philips CPAP: both in one case

The Philips CPAP litigation shows how the two tools can work side by side. All the claims sat in one federal MDL, MDL 3014, in the Western District of Pennsylvania. But they settled in different ways.

Claim type	How it was resolved	Key facts
Economic loss (money spent on recalled machines)	Class settlement	Reached Sept. 7, 2023; final approval April 25, 2024; claims period closed Aug. 9, 2024
Medical monitoring	Class settlement	Capped at $25 million; final in January 2025
Personal injury	Private settlement program with individual registration	$1.075 billion; final after registrations passed the required 95% by Jan. 31, 2025

The personal-injury program shows the MDL logic. Each injured person had to register. People who declined or were not eligible kept their own cases. They then had to meet court-ordered discovery rules, including early proof of causation. On June 26, 2026, the court dismissed with prejudice the claims of listed plaintiffs who did not comply. As of Oct. 1, 2026, the MDL still had 623 pending cases.

Bellwether trials

Bellwether trials are early trials of selected individual cases in an MDL. They show both sides how juries react to the evidence. Results can shape settlement talks, but they do not decide anyone else’s case.

The Bard PowerPort MDL is a current example. A December 2025 order set six bellwether trials:

Bellwether	Trial dates	Result
Cook	April 21 to May 8, 2026	Defense verdict on two claims; mistrial on two claims
Miller	July 7 to 24, 2026	Not confirmed in our sources
Divelbliss	Aug. 18 to Sept. 4, 2026	Plaintiff awarded $40 million in compensatory damages
Lattanzio	Oct. 13 to 30, 2026	Outcome not yet found
Hicks	Dec. 1 to 18, 2026	Scheduled
Sorensen	Feb. 2 to 19, 2027	Scheduled

The Covidien hernia mesh MDL held its first bellwether in 2026. On Aug. 4, 2026, a jury awarded $88 million in Patterson v. Covidien. Covidien said it would challenge the verdict. See our settlements page for more results. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What this means for you

If a device injured you, you will most likely file your own lawsuit. If a federal MDL exists for your device, your case will probably join it. You keep control of your claim. You decide whether to accept a settlement offer.

A few steps follow from this:

File on time. Joining an MDL still takes your own lawsuit, filed within your state’s deadline. Ask a lawyer which filing deadline applies in your state, or read our deadlines page.
Watch for class notices. If you get a class notice, read it. Doing nothing can bind you to the result.
Follow court orders. In the Philips MDL, plaintiffs who missed court-ordered steps lost their claims.

To check whether your device has an active MDL, see Do I qualify?.

Questions readers ask us

Is a mass tort the same as a class action?

No. A mass tort is many individual injury lawsuits against the same defendant. Each person's damages are judged on their own facts. A class action treats the group as one case led by representatives.

Can I join a class action for a device injury?

Device injury claims usually proceed as individual cases, often in an MDL or a state coordinated proceeding. The Philips CPAP case used class settlements only for money-loss and medical monitoring claims. Injury claims went through a program where each person registered. A lawyer can tell you which applies to your device.

Will my case go to trial if it is in an MDL?

It might. Federal law says each MDL case must be sent back to its original court at or before the end of pretrial work. Many cases settle first. In 2024, BD agreed to settle the vast majority of its Bard hernia mesh cases.

What happens if a bellwether trial is lost?

A bellwether loss does not end other cases. Each plaintiff keeps an individual claim. The first Bard port catheter trial ended in a defense verdict on two claims and a mistrial on two others, and a later bellwether returned a $40 million plaintiff verdict.

Do I have to file my own lawsuit to be part of an MDL?

Yes. You need your own case, filed on time. Some MDLs allow direct filing. The Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator MDL began allowing it in August 2026. Ask a lawyer which filing deadline applies in your state.