Breast Implants Lawsuit: Allergan BIOCELL Cases, MDL 2921
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The breast implants lawsuit in the news is the Allergan BIOCELL litigation over textured implants recalled in 2019 for a link to a rare lymphoma. In June 2026 AbbVie, Allergan's parent, agreed to resolve substantially all U.S. lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) lawsuits. About 1,300 other cases are still pending in federal court in New Jersey, with the first bellwether trial set for October 19, 2026. There is no public breast implants settlement, no claim form and no deadline to file.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Lawsuits Claim
On July 24, 2019, at the FDA's request, Allergan announced a voluntary worldwide recall of its BIOCELL textured breast implants and tissue expanders. The FDA tied the recall to breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In its announcement the agency counted 573 unique BIA-ALCL cases worldwide, including 33 deaths, and attributed 481 of them to Allergan implants. It put the risk with BIOCELL implants at about six times that of other makers' textured implants.
The lawsuits allege that the implants caused BIA-ALCL or other injuries, and that Allergan knew or should have known of the risk and failed to warn the FDA, patients and surgeons. Plaintiffs seek money damages, medical monitoring and attorneys' fees. Allergan has not admitted these allegations.
Case Details
The federal cases are consolidated as In re: Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2921, master docket No. 2:19-md-02921, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey before Judge Brian R. Martinotti, with Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created the MDL on December 18, 2019. It started with four actions plus 25 related federal suits, and New Jersey was chosen because Allergan USA is headquartered there. The court posts its case management orders on its MDL 2921 page.
Status: Lymphoma Cases Settling, Other Cases Head to Trial
Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) cases: In AbbVie's quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026, filed August 3, 2026, the company said that in June 2026 it reached an agreement to resolve substantially all U.S.-based ALCL lawsuits, which will be dismissed with prejudice. The terms and the amount were not disclosed. This is a settlement of individual lawsuits already on file, not a class settlement, so there is no public fund, no administrator and no claim form.
Everything else: The same filing lists about 1,300 other lawsuits still in MDL 2921, about 475 in U.S. state courts and about 1,080 in other countries. In the MDL, Case Management Order No. 37 set the first “surgical explant” bellwether trial (a test case for a plaintiff who had the implants removed) for October 19, 2026. Case Management Order No. 42, dated July 14, 2026, names the Henson and Rabin cases and set a final pretrial conference for October 6, 2026. Trial dates in MDLs often move; check the court page for the current schedule.
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Who Is Affected
This litigation is only about Allergan implants and tissue expanders with the BIOCELL textured surface, the products recalled on July 24, 2019. It is not a general lawsuit against all breast implants.
If you were diagnosed with BIA-ALCL and already had a lawsuit on file, the June 2026 agreement is expected to cover your case through your own lawyer. AbbVie has not said whether people who never sued can join it.
If you have BIOCELL implants but no lymphoma, the pending cases include people who had the implants removed and claims for medical monitoring. No class settlement has been reached in the Allergan BIOCELL litigation, and you are not automatically part of any settlement. Your surgeon or the hospital where you had surgery can tell you from your records whether your implants were BIOCELL textured.
Is There Money, and How Much?
For the remaining MDL cases, nothing has been paid and no court has valued them. The upcoming bellwether trials are meant to show how juries react, which often drives later settlement talks. For how device injury claims are generally valued, see our medical device lawsuit calculator.
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 166,050 health care/pharmaceutical product liability casesclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2025:
- 34.5% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 17.9% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 34.5% and 52.4%.
- 9% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 2,863 reached a trial (0%), after a median of 32 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 26.3 months.
- Almost none record a money award in this data (18 of 166,050), and the recorded figures are capped, so we do not publish an average.
These are base rates for this type of case (federal health care/pharmaceutical product liability cases) — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Allergan BIOCELL Litigation Timeline
- 1
July 24, 2019 — FDA-Requested Recall
Allergan recalls BIOCELL textured breast implants and tissue expanders worldwide after the FDA cites BIA-ALCL risk.
- 2
December 18, 2019 — MDL 2921 Created
The JPML centralizes the federal cases in the District of New Jersey before Judge Brian R. Martinotti.
- 3
March 19, 2021 — Key Pretrial Ruling
Per Law360, the court finds certain claims are not preempted by federal law and leaves class allegations in play.
- 4
June 2026 — Agreement on Lymphoma Cases
AbbVie reaches an agreement to resolve substantially all U.S. BIA-ALCL lawsuits. Terms are not public.
- 5
July 14, 2026 — Trial Deadlines Set
Case Management Order No. 42 sets pretrial deadlines for the first two bellwether trials (Henson and Rabin) and a final pretrial conference on October 6, 2026.
- 6
October 19, 2026 — First Explant Bellwether
The first surgical explant bellwether trial was scheduled for this date under Case Management Order No. 37. About 1,300 MDL cases remain pending.
Three Things to Watch For
A widely reported settlement with no public claim process invites imitators:
“Claim your Allergan settlement” forms
The June 2026 agreement resolves lawsuits already filed; there is no public claims portal. A site asking for your Social Security number, implant records or a fee to “register” for the breast implants settlement is collecting data, not filing a claim.
“Have them removed so you qualify”
The FDA does not recommend removing BIOCELL implants in patients without symptoms because surgery carries its own risks. Removal is a medical decision for you and your surgeon, not a step to qualify for a payout.
Calls about old silicone implant money
Callers sometimes invoke the decades-old Dow Corning silicone settlement. That trust was set up to run for a fixed period and is unrelated to Allergan. No legitimate claims office asks for an upfront fee to release funds.
Breast Implant Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there a breast implants settlement I can file a claim for?
No. As of October 2026 there is no public settlement, claim form or deadline. AbbVie's June 2026 agreement resolves substantially all U.S. BIA-ALCL lawsuits that were already filed, and its terms are confidential.
Which implants are in the lawsuit?
Allergan breast implants and tissue expanders with the BIOCELL textured surface, recalled worldwide on July 24, 2019 at the FDA's request. The litigation does not cover breast implants in general.
Is there a class action lawsuit for breast implants?
Searches for a class action lawsuit breast implants patients can join usually lead to this case. The MDL includes proposed class claims, including requests for medical monitoring, and Law360 reported in March 2021 that class allegations survived an early motion. No class has been certified for payment and no breast implants class action settlement exists. Most cases are individual lawsuits.
How many breast implant cases are pending?
Per AbbVie's quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026: about 1,300 cases in MDL 2921, about 475 in U.S. state courts and about 1,080 in other countries, besides the lymphoma cases covered by the June agreement.
What happens at the October 2026 trial?
Case Management Order No. 37 scheduled the first surgical explant bellwether, a one-plaintiff test case, for October 19, 2026, with a second to follow. Bellwether verdicts do not pay other plaintiffs but often shape settlement talks. Dates can change; the court's MDL page posts updates.
Do I need to have my implants removed?
Not for any lawsuit. The FDA does not recommend removal for patients without symptoms. Watch for swelling, a lump or pain around the implant and talk to your surgeon if it appears.
What about the old silicone implant settlements?
Those are separate. Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy in 1995 over silicone breast implant claims, and in 1998 agreed to a $3.2 billion settlement covering about 177,000 claims. A $2.35 billion trust was later created to pay about 360,000 people. That has nothing to do with Allergan BIOCELL.
What should I do right now?
Find out from your surgeon or hospital records whether you have BIOCELL textured implants, and keep your operative report and implant card. If you are considering a lawsuit, talk to a licensed attorney you choose yourself; deadlines for new claims depend on your state's statute of limitations.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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