Hernia mesh claims: who can file and what to do in North Carolina

North Carolina hernia mesh plaintiffs enter litigation across four specialized forums: Davol/CR Bard MDL 2846 (S.D. Ohio, Judge Sargus, ~30,000 cases); Covidien MDL 3029 (D. Mass., Judge Saris); Atrium C-QUR MDL 2753 (D.N.H.); and Johnson & Johnson/Ethicon cases in the Atlantic County NJ Superior Court mass tort before Judge Porto. North Carolina cases originate in the Middle or Eastern District of NC before JPML transfer to the applicable MDL.

North Carolina imposes a three-year statute of limitations for products liability under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16), with the discovery rule applicable. The limitations period runs from the date the plaintiff discovered, or by reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury and its causal connection to the mesh product. North Carolina also has a ten-year statute of repose for products liability under § 1-46.1, measured from the date of last purchase; however, the discovery rule can still extend recovery for claimants within the repose window.

North Carolina's hernia mesh market is concentrated in Charlotte (Atrium Health, Novant Health), Raleigh-Durham (Duke Health, UNC Health), and Greensboro-Winston-Salem. Duke University Medical Center and UNC Hospitals are major academic mesh implant centers. The state has significant Bard Davol (Composix Kugel, PerFix, Ventralex) and Ethicon (Physiomesh) product distribution, the latter making North Carolina plaintiffs particularly relevant to the Atlantic County NJ mass tort docket.

North Carolina's strong Ethicon Physiomesh exposure — driven by Ethicon's historical market share in the Southeast — means NC plaintiffs should evaluate whether their claims belong in the Atlantic County NJ mass tort rather than any federal MDL. Ethicon cases do not have a federal MDL; the NJ state court consolidation under Judge Porto is the exclusive centralized forum for J&J/Ethicon hernia mesh claims.