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West Virginia Vaginal Mesh MDL Schedules Status Conference for March 21, 2013

By February 13, 2013July 17th, 2019Dangerous Drugs

On January 23, 2013, a Case Management Order stated that a status conference will be held on March 21, 2013, for the transvaginal mesh MDL that is currently underway in West Virginia.

The MDL was filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia and involves various manufacturers of vaginal mesh device implants. Some of the defendants in the MDL include American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon and C.R. Bard. Transvaginal mesh device implants are used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, which can occur as a result of childbirth or menopause. Some of the complications that arise after the devices are implanted include infections, vaginal scarring, painful intercourse and erosion. The MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia is being presided over by Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.

In July 2011, the FDA issued a warning against the implants after countless women complained about the injuries they experienced after having the device implanted. Many of those patients required additional surgeries to correct the complications associated with the device — and still others have found no relief. So far, the FDA does not deny that the devices are dangerous and has even gone so far as to state that the complications associated with the mesh aren’t rare.

Countless lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers of these devices because of the dangers linked to them. So many, in fact, that MDLs have been set up in different areas of the country to accommodate the sheer number of them. Nearly all of the lawsuits filed over vaginal mesh device complications claim that the manufacturers purposely hid the dangers linked to their devices from the public and healthcare professionals alike. They also accuse the companies of marketing the devices as safe, while they either knew or should have known about the dangerous complications.