JPML Grants Plaintiffs’ Request to Consolidate Power Morcellator Actions in Kansas

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation have granted plaintiffs’ request for creation of a federal docket in the District of Kansas for lawsuits alleging a link between the use of power morcellators and the spread of cancerous cells.

In an Oct. 15 order, the panel appointed Senior Judge Kathryn H. Vratil, a former JPML chairman, to oversee the coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. Pursuant to the order, 20 lawsuits pending against Ethicon Inc., Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corp., and Karl Stortz Endoscopy-America Inc. will be transferred to Kansas City.

The panel …