Manufacturers of vaginal mesh medical products — used to treat conditions like stress urinary incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) — have a fight on their hands.
A big one.
More and more plaintiffs are recognizing that they might have the right to sue for problems ranging from organ damage to chronic pain to extra medical costs related to the failure of side effects of transvaginal mesh equipment.
Consider breaking news out of West Virginia, where the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) added yet another manufacturer to a roster of defendants that includes Ethicon, C.R Bard, Boston Scientific, and American Medical Systems.
The newest member of the ìgangî is Coloplast Corp. A sixth company, Mentor ObTape. may soon find itself joining this rogues gallery.
Why are these transvaginal mesh suits happening?
Emergent research – and certainly plenty of anecdotal stories – suggest that many vaginal mesh products on the market carry risks that have not been effectively conveyed to patients. Many women who’ve had implants have suffered problems like:
• Pelvic pain;
• Erosion or extrusion of organs or tissues;
• Significant bleeding;
• Problems with urination and incontinence;
• Infections;
• Pain during sex;
• Other issues, some of which may not even have been documented yet.
Coloplast alone faces 13 different lawsuits. The August 6th decree will merge those lawsuits to a larger process, so that the court can look at the totality of evidence against products like Axis, Suspend, Novasilk, and Exair.
Why are the lawsuits being consolidated?
First of all, the court has limited resources, so consolidation helps to avoid redundancy and speed up the process. Secondly, since there are so many lawsuits floating about, the odds of different courts issuing different rulings increases, and such contradictions can drag out litigation.
The lawsuits are not totally co-mingled, however. Once the pre-trial proceedings have been completed, these suits will return to their original courts for the rest of the processing.
The pain and agony of dealing with a failed medical device, in and of itself, can be drastic and horrifying. Likely, you are already overloaded just with dealing with your medical and financial woes.
The team here at Carey, Danis & Lowe can help ease your burden and answer your urgent questions. We can provide a free consultation to help you determine whether you, too, can, participate in a vaginal mesh lawsuit to recoup money for your pain and suffering, medical/surgical bills, loss of companionship and consortium, and other damages. Get in touch with us today to understand and protect your rights.
