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 Injury Leads to Trial Verdict
As attorneys that represent women who received transvaginal mesh devices, we want to report that a New Jersey jury has found for the plaintiffs in the first case to go to trial over Johnson & Johnson’s Gynecare Prolift, a transvaginal mesh device designed to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP). The case is Gross v Ethicon, Inc., No. ATL-L-6966-10 (NJ Atlantic County Superior February 25, 2013).
Linda Gross suffered severe complications after receiving her prolift transvaginal mesh (TVM) device in July 2006. Doctors discovered that it had eroded into surrounding tissue causing inflammation, scaring and neurological damage. Then 41 years old, Gross underwent numerous surgeries to remove the mesh that had eroded and repair the damage to the best of the physician’s abilities, and she suffers from permanent, disabling pain in her pelvis and legs.
The lawsuit that was filed alleged that Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, failed to adequately warn of the device’s risks and made fraudulent misrepresentations to promote the product. The plaintiff contended that Ethicon was aware of possible complications associated with Prolift but began marketing the device, despite the red flags, in order to meet the company’s planned March 2005 launch date. Following a jury trial, the jury awarded $3.35 million in compensatory damages. In a second phase the jury awarded $7.76 million in punitive damages.
The Gross case is the first to go to trial among more than 1,800 lawsuits by women who have alleged injury from the Prolift. Numerous other cases alleging injuries from transvaginal mesh devices are pending against Johnson & Johnson and also other manufacturers including in an MDL in federal court in the State of West Virginia. Johnson & Johnson removed several of these products, including the Prolift, from the United States market after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 ordered the company to perform post-market studies showing the efficacy and safety of the devices.
This is the second verdict overall as to a transvaginal mesh product. Last July, a jury in the State of California awarded damages of more than $5 million dollars to Christine Scott who suffered permanent injuries after receiving the Evolva Plus biosynthetic support system, a similar product manufactured by C.R. Bard, Inc.
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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FILL OUT THIS FORM FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION:
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.