FREE CASE EVALUATION: 1-800-632-1404
Tens of thousands of women receive a transvaginal mesh (TVM) device each and every year from numerous suppliers: American Medical Systems, C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific, Coloplast, and Johnson & Johnson / Ethicon. Thousands of women have been injured through no fault of their own, including vaginal erosion, pain, urinary problems, bleeding, infection and more. Our attorneys are representing women in all fifty states and Canada who have been injured. For a free case evaluation, call 1-800-632-1404.
We are honored to have two women on staff ready and willing to discuss the facts of your case with you as often as needed.
TVM and TVT Lawsuits
Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits in United States: An Overview
Thousands of US women suffering from complications caused by transvaginal mesh implants have filed lawsuits against the device manufacturers. The number of vaginal mesh implant injury lawsuits increased in 2008 following the FDA alert on potential side effects of these devices. The pace of litigations picked up further in 2011 after the FDA updated the warning based on its review of all vaginal mesh implants carried on between 1996 and 2010. The findings reported that patients suffered from serious complications without having any significant benefits over traditional treatment of prolapsed pelvic organs. Expositions by independent research studies and market withdrawals of transvaginal mesh implants by manufacturers have also contributed to public awareness and lawsuits on side effects of these devices.
Transvaginal Mesh Implant Injury Lawsuits: Features
- More than 3,000 transvaginal mesh implant injury lawsuits have been filed in various US courts.
- There are class action and consolidated complex division (including federal Multi-District Litigation) lawsuits pending against major mesh implants manufacturers in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
- Transvaginal mesh implant lawsuits are filed blaming the implant manufacturers for product liability, wrongful information, side effect injuries, failure to warn consumers, negligence, breach of warranty, and fraud.
- A number of lawsuits have questioned the approval process of the FDA for these devices.
- Surgeons and hospitals are also named in a fewer number of lawsuits as respondents for advising patients to implant transvaginal mesh devices.
- Nine major manufacturers of transvaginal mesh implants, including American Medical Systems, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Covidien, Caldera Medical, and Coloplast.
- Transvaginal mesh implant injury lawsuits can be filed by those suffering from complications due to mesh implants or bladder slings.
- Damage claims made by mesh implant lawsuits include compensation for medical expenses, low quality of life, side effect injuries, and punitive damages.
Ethicon Gynecare Transvaginal Mesh Implant Injury Lawsuits
Ethicon, a division of Johnson & Johnson, is facing more than 1,000 lawsuits filed by women who suffered from side effects of its Gynecare transvaginal mesh implants. The manufacturer withdrew four of its most popular mesh implants sold under the Gynecare brand in June 2012 after a number of reports in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology linked the devices to high erosion and reoperation rate. By June 2011, more than 400 lawsuits were filed against Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey by women suffered from complications caused by Gynecare mesh implants. According to the plaintiffs, the manufacturer continued to produce these mesh implants despite knowing that their side effects. These lawsuits are consolidated in the New Jersey Superior Court of Judge Carol E. Higbee.
In May 2012, a Maryland woman sued Johnson & Johnson for manufacturing and selling Gynecare TVT bladder slings with defective design that caused serious injuries. Ossie Blackston was implanted with Gynecare TVT to treat uterovaginal prolapsed and stress urinary incontinence in May 2009. She suffered from pain, infections, and urinary problems as the implant eroded through her vaginal wall. She had to undergo revision surgery in February 2010. Another lawsuit filed by a man from Texas in August 2012 claims that the mesh disintegrated in his body leading to infection and complications.
Boston Scientific Transvaginal Mesh Implant Injury Lawsuits
Boston Scientific settled 738 ProteGen mesh implant injury lawsuits brought against it. The amount not disclosed was expected to be in millions. In October 2011, a transvaginal mesh lawsuit filed in the Western Louisiana federal court sought $1.5 million in damages from Boston Scientific. The plaintiff suffered from painful and debilitating injuries due to defective Pinnacle mesh implants supplied by the manufacturer. Boston Scientific recalled Pinnacle mesh implant kits in August 2011 following discovery of design defects. An Alabama woman has also filed a similar lawsuit claiming that she suffered from physical injuries after using the Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Kit.
Mentor ObTape Vaginal Mesh Injury Lawsuits
Mentor Corporation, another subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is facing more than 200 lawsuits filed in 12 federal courts for injuries caused by ObTape vaginal mesh implants. The manufacturer has already settled a number of such lawsuits paying an undisclosed amount to each plaintiff. ObTape vaginal mesh implants were recalled in October 2006 after a number of studies, including a report in the Journal of Urology detailed a number of painful risks linked to these devices.
American Medical Systems (AMS) Vaginal Mesh Injury Lawsuits
American Medical Systems is facing close to 100 lawsuits filed in various states for injuries caused by side effect of its Elvate, Apogee, Perigee, In-Fast Ultra, BioArc, and other pelvic mesh implant systems. In September 2008, the first AMS vaginal mesh implant lawsuit was filed in a California district followed by 23 more in West Virginia, Minnesota, and other states. The plaintiffs have alleged to have suffered from severe complications caused by design, testing, and labeling problems.
Bard Avaulta Vaginal Mesh Injury Lawsuits
In July 2012, a 53-year-old California woman got $5.5 million in damages in a Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh injury lawsuit. The victim had to undergo eight additional surgeries because of complications and pain caused by the mesh implants. The jury agreed with the plaintiff claim that the design defects in the mesh implant manufactured by C.R. Bard caused her suffering. More than 250 Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh injury lawsuits are consolidated under the MDL provision at West Virginia south district court and the first federal lawsuit is expected to go for trial in February 2013.
Coloplast Vaginal Mesh Injury Lawsuits
In August 2012, the federal MDL panel assigned all Coloplast vaginal mesh injury lawsuits to Judge Josephe R. Goodwin of West Virginia. There are close to 100 lawsuits filed against Coloplast across the United States alleging vaginal mesh erosion, pelvic pain, and infection. Lawsuits are expected to rise as attorneys across the United States are considering hundreds of cases of injury caused by transvaginal mesh implants.
Our team of attorneys are currently representing more than 100 women who claim to have suffered similar injuries as a result of using pelvic mesh products. Please continue reading for more help.
Do You Qualify for a Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit?
Recently, the public has become aware of serious health complications suffered by women after undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with transvaginal mesh devices. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), between January 2008 and December 2010, there were nearly 3,000 adverse event reports involving transvaginal mesh devices. Specifically, there were 1,503 reports of complications involving POP repair and 1,371 reports linked to surgery for SUI. Our team of lawyers are representing women who experienced both complications.
Side effects reported in transvaginal mesh recipients include:
- Infections
- Internal bleeding
- Vaginal scar tissue
- Vaginal wall narrowing
- Painful urination
- Fistulas
- Mesh shrinkage
- Mesh migration
- Urinary problems
- Punctures to the bladder, blood vessels, bowels or other organs in the lower abdomen
- Mesh erosion into the vagina, bladder, intestines, and uterus
- Pain
- Painful sexual intercourse for both partners
- Recurrence of incontinence
- Recurrence of both POP and SUI, or both
Numerous lawsuits have been filed over these complications, in part because studies have shown that transvaginal mesh offers no real benefit over safer, more traditional methods of treatment. Making matters worse, in many cases the POP or SUI the implant was supposed to fix in the first place returns. Transvaginal mesh manufacturers took advantage of the FDA’s highly criticized 510(k) approval process, which allows medical devices to be sold on the market without ever being safety tested in humans. Now, thousands of innocent women are paying the price.
Our team of attorneys is reviewing case evaluations for women across the country who have received TVM and TVT products from manufactures such as C.R. Bard, Avaulta, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon, and Coloplast.
If you need help from a transvaginal mesh device injury, call us today for help.
The Problem
In 2008, the FDA first released concerns about the safety of transvaginal placement of mesh. From 2008 to 2010, the FDA received three to five times as many adverse reports associated with mesh used for pelvic organ prolapse repair than what agency received from 2005 to 2007 (nearly 1,000 reports of adverse events were received from 2005-2007).
Many of these patients complain because of erosion or contraction of the mesh material (which has been described as being of a similar material as Rubbermaid storage containers). The erosion leads to bleeding, severe pelvic pain, painful (or impossible) sexual performance and a recurrence of urinary problems.
In July 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an update related to what it called ‘serious complications’ related to the use of vaginal mesh for treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). It is now known that complications linked to transvaginal placement of surgical mesh in SUI and POP patients are not rare and can require multiple surgeries to correct problems related to the use of surgical mesh. In fact, the FDA now says that additional surgeries may actually not be able to repair damage caused by implantation of the mesh.
In other words, the side effects of the mesh placement may be permanent. These complications from transvaginal placement of surgical mesh include:
- Erosion of the implanted mesh
- Infection and/or bleeding
- Pain, including pain during sexual intercourse
- Problems with organs near the implantation site
Helping You
You may have experienced mesh erosion, bleeding, urinary infections, vaginal scarring, pain during sexual intercourse, failure to conduct sexual intercourse and more. A physician may have tried to remove the mesh and been unable to do so. You may be in excruciating pain, and need help. We are offering free case evaluations to the general public across the United States and Canada. Manufacturers we consider include American Medical Systems, Bard, Boston Scientific, Ethicon,Gynecare, Coloplast, and Johnson & Johnson.
If you received a transvaginal mesh / sling and have been injured, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Problems include pain, inability to have intercourse,bleeding, mesh growth into the body, mesh erosion, and more. Problems could be irreversible. Please fill out the form to the right or call us so that we can provide you with forms to evaluate your potential case immediately.
We are accepting case evaluations nationwide and in Canada, as well. Please do not hesitate or delay in contacating TVM / TVT Sling and transvaginal mesh attorneys :
CALL: 1-800-632-1404
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NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.