Lawsuits involving transvaginal mesh and other surgical implants used to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or pelvic organ prolapse (POP) have been consolidated into five individual Multi-District Litigation (MDL) cases in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, overseen by Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
The MDLs involve lawsuits that have been filed against C.R. Bard, Inc., American Medical Systems, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Ethicon Inc., and Coloplast Corp.
Parties were convened for a Status Conference Hearing on December 6, 2012, with the next Status Conference for these five MDLs is scheduled for January 10, 2013.
During the Status Conference on December 6, there was discussion about the content of the first of the bellwether trials.
The legal representatives for the defendants made a statement that the first case to go on trial should be one pertaining to stress urinary incontinence (SUI), as lawsuits regarding SUI and surgical implants of transvaginal mesh make up a large majority of cases in the MDLs.
Providing further insight on this topic of SUI cases and POP cases, Chief Judge Goodwin recognized the difficulty of bellwether trials that involve several manufacturers and several products in a single case. Chief Judge Goodwin made a statement indicating his dislike for these cases, and how in choosing cases for the bellwether trials, he will refrain from selecting those that are multi-manufacturer and multi-product.
The defendants and the plaintiffs legal counsel will begin developing discovery pools and trial pools, and during this process, they will be carefully examining each case to determine if it is representative of a majority of the cases consolidated into each of the five MDLs. It was brought up by the plaintiffs’ legal counsel that finding cases that are single product cases pertaining to only SUI or only POP will be difficult, as most cases filed with the court are a combination.
Before the court adjourned, Chief Judge Goodwin acknowledged the great number of lawsuits going to trial in 2013 regarding defective transvaginal mesh products. Chief Judge Goodwin recognized the importance of following these trials.
The first bellwether trial is set for December 3, 2013, and Chief Judge Goodwin has ordered that two trials be prepared for December 3, so that the bellwether process is efficient.
Patients who have received a surgical implant of defective transvaginal mesh, vaginal slings, and vaginal tape to treat SUI or POP have experienced an enormous amount of pain and suffering, including:
- infection
- severe pain in the pelvic region
- bleeding
- pain during intercourse
- vaginal erosion
- organ perforation
- revision surgery
If you or a loved one has received a surgical implant of defective transvaginal mesh, a defective vaginal sling, or defective vaginal tape, you and your loved one may be entitled to receive recompense for your medical expenses, emotional suffering, and other hardships.
For a free legal consultation about your vaginal mesh case, contact a lawyer at Carey Danis & Lowe to learn more about how to file a vaginal mesh lawsuit. Get legal help today by calling a lawyer at Carey Danis & Lowe at 800.721.2519.
