AngioDynamics Port Test Trials: How Cases Are Picked

What is a test trial in a group of cases?

A bellwether is a test trial: one person’s case tried early to help move a large group of cases toward an end. That is how a guide for federal judges describes it. The guide says a verdict in one test case does not clearly bind anyone else’s case.

The same guide warns that letting each side pick cases freely can produce extreme picks. It says the cases tried should represent the range of cases in the group.

How does the court pick the AngioDynamics test cases?

It works in steps. First, the two sides each pick nine cases, for a first group of 18. Later each side picks five of those, and each may strike one of the other side’s picks. That leaves eight or nine cases.

Before the first picks, the two sides sorted cases by the three kinds of injury in the case: infection, a broken catheter and blood clots. The order says the test group should reflect that mix. On March 2, 2026, they filed a joint statement on the mix.

The judge then checks that the final group is a fair sample of the cases waiting in San Diego, and issues an order naming them. Those cases are set for separate trials. The order says the two sides’ picks take turns, so neither side has two of its picks tried in a row.

If a person in the final group drops their case, AngioDynamics may swap in another case from the first group with the same kind of injury.

Where does the AngioDynamics test case process stand now?

It is running behind the first plan. In April 2026, the court pushed back every pending deadline in its two schedule orders by 60 days. AngioDynamics asked for that because outside providers were slow to send medical records. The people suing did not object.

On August 4, 2026, the two sides filed a joint notice naming the cases for the first group. That notice is not public on the free court record site we used, so we do not know who was picked or how many.

We could not read the April 24, 2026 order with the new dates. So this page does not list them, and some dates on older pages may be out of date. The orders we read set no trial dates.

What happens if my case is picked for the first group?

You would fill out a longer form about your health and your port. The draft form is signed under penalty of perjury. Each side can then question you and others under oath before trial, including your spouse and your doctors.

The order also allows sworn questions to your primary care doctors, from two years before you got the port until now. AngioDynamics may ask for more, such as written questions or more records. If your case reaches the final group, medical exams may be added.

Your lawyer can tell you what being picked would mean for your time and your privacy.

What if my case is not picked?

Your case stays in the group while the shared pretrial work goes on. A test trial’s result does not decide your case. The orders we read do not say what happens next to cases that are not picked.

Federal law says each case sent to San Diego goes back to its home court by the end of the shared pretrial work, unless it has ended. A case filed straight into San Diego goes to the court named in its complaint, unless a judge finds good reason to send it elsewhere.

Filing straight into San Diego does not mean anyone agreed to hold a trial there. The two sides can agree to that later. The orders we read do not say where test trials will be held.