BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today announced it has reached an agreement to resolve the vast majority of its existing hernia litigation.
Terms of the settlement agreement, which are confidential, include cases in both the Rhode Island consolidated litigation and the federal multidistrict litigation in Ohio.
The aggregate amount payable pursuant to this settlement is within the company’s current product litigation reserve for this matter and will be paid out over a multi-year period.
As a result, the settlement amount is already recorded as a liability within BD’s consolidated balance sheet and the agreement will not result in an incremental charge to the company’s consolidated income statement. BD believes this agreement is in the best interest of all parties and is structured to eliminate uncertainty for all stakeholders related to the settled cases. The hernia mass tort litigation represents a large majority of BD’s total product litigation reserve.
The multi-year payment structure was contemplated as part of the company’s cash flow planning process and was included in its previously communicated free cash flow goals and capital allocation strategy.
The settlement does not include any admission of liability or wrongdoing, and BD continues to dispute the allegations in these matters. The company will continue to vigorously defend itself in cases not resolved through this agreement.
Patient safety and product quality are top priorities at BD. All implantable medical devices carry inherent risks and provide significant clinical benefits. BD is confident in both the design of its products and fulfilling its obligation to provide information about both the risks and the benefits of its products, enabling physicians, in consultation with their patients, to determine whether those benefits outweigh the potential risks in a particular instance.
