Plaintiffs who filed a securities fraud case against HCA Holdings Inc., the Nashville-based hospital giant, were granted class-action status in a suit stemming from the company’s $4.3 billion initial public offering in 2011.

The list of defendants includes HCA’s top executives — Chairman Richard Bracken and CEO Milton Johnson — as well as several high-profile investment banks, including J.P. Morgan Securities, Lazard Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs & Co. A private equity group owned by affiliates of Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co. and Merrill Lynch’s private equity arm is also named in the suit.

The claim, brought by New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund as lead plaintiff, alleges HCA failed to disclose the company was experiencing a decline in Medicare and Medicaid revenues and had improperly accounted for previous reorganizations in a “false and misleading” initial public offering registration statement.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp granted the class action status to HCA shareholders who owned common stock that was bought before the date of filing on Oct. 28, 2011. Based on the drop in the stock price from the IPO to the filing of the claim, the group has suffered more than $1 billion in damages, according to the complaint.

“That information was not disclosed, and when it was disclosed, the…