Jacksonville Personal Injury Blog

It happened Tuesday afternoon, February 7. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) ruled that lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country against three synthetic vaginal mesh manufacturers could be transferred to be heard by one federal judge in West Virginia.

The cases were filed against American Medical Systems Inc. (MDL No. 2325), Boston Scientific Corp. (MDL 2326), and Ethicon, Inc. (MDL 2327).

The JPML ordered that 82 actions against American Medical Systems be transferred, 22 actions against Boston Scientific, and 36 cases against Ethicon be transferred to the U.S. District Court Judge who will hear the consolidated cases - Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia. There will be three different MDL’s consolidated against the three manufacturers to be heard by Judge Goodwin who is familiar with synthetic mesh injuries; he currently oversees the C.R. Bard Avaulta lawsuits.

The female plaintiffs all report similar injuries after receiving synthetic mesh for pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, common female problems. These complications range from intense pain, disability, mesh erosion and shrinkage, nerve damage, and infection, among other injuries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received more than 4,000 reports of injuries in its database, which is thought to represent just a fraction of what exists in the real world because the database is little-known and difficult to access.

As it stands now, the cases should move forward much more efficiently. Plaintiffs will be able to share the discovery gathered from the manufacturers, which is part of the litigation process. Judge Goodwin should also be able to understand how to handle claims if two different types of mesh have been used on the same women, as happens occasionally. In addition, there won’t be conflicting court rulings from around the country that would have to be sorted out.

An MDL is a special procedure, somewhat similar to a class action, in which noncriminal cases are consolidated into one court. Unlike a class action, individuals can file their own product liability lawsuits.

Expect the first of these defective product lawsuits to begin to be heard in 2012.

Any woman experiencing complications from defective surgical mesh can call the transvaginal mesh attorneys in Jacksonville of Farah & Farah at (800) 533-3555. The consultation is free and confidential.

The C.R. Bard Company of New Jersey, is one of nine synthetic surgical mesh manufacturers whose products are used in women to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Avaulta is the best known Bard product, and despite the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received several thousand reports of complications from synthetic mesh, the Avaulta surgical mesh system is still on the market.

Of particular concern are the “arms” that are made of a form of plastic, a synthetic polypropylene mesh. Once implanted in the body, they grow into tissue and can adhere to organs, making them very difficult to remove. Complications may include erosion into surrounding tissue and organs, pain, nerve damage, migration of the mesh, and hardening of the plastic. The arms can be problematic to remove and, in some cases, surgeons will opt to leave the arms behind, sentencing the patient to a lifetime of pain and possibly disability. Other Bard products include Avaulta Plus, Avaulta Solo, and Avaulta Biosynthetic. Once the mesh is out, a woman may need reconstructive surgery to put damaged tissues back in place, such as reconstructing the vagina, the rectum, or the pelvic floor.

There is no wonder why the FDA suggested in its July 13, 2011 Public Health Notification that the risks associated with synthetic Avaulta mesh may not be worth the benefit.

At Farah & Farah, our Jacksonville synthetics mesh injury attorneys understand it is difficult to discuss your pelvic surgery complications. That is why we have assigned compassionate and understanding women to discuss your case and your injuries. A statute of limitations does apply so we have opened the door to a complimentary consultation. You will not have to pay anything for us to take your case unless we secure an award on your behalf. Our number is (800) 533-3555.

With thousands of transvaginal mesh and bladder sling mesh lawsuits filed in state and federal courts around the country, it’s becoming increasingly clear that they cannot be tried separately. Lawsuits filed against the major manufacturers - C.R. Bard, Ethicon, American Medical Systems, and Boston Scientific - have in some cases been consolidated with other lawsuits against the same individual manufacturer.

On Thursday, January 26th, a federal panel of judges met to consider whether all of the cases should be consolidated before one federal judge. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) met in Miami to decide whether all of the cases, numbering in the thousands, should be consolidated before one judge in the Southern District of West Virginia. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin is already overseeing the C.R. Bard surgical mesh lawsuits and is therefore familiar with the issues, which include patient injury and a failure to inform by the manufacturers who may have understood that their products were defective.

The Judicial Panel delayed making any decision on the consolidation request.

Cases heard in an MDL can use a similar set of facts and share in the discovery process, where each side asks for and receives documents from the other side that can become evidence in their case. Injured plaintiffs keep their legal bills down when they can all share in discovery. In addition, consolidating cases in an MDL avoids any conflicting court rulings that can come from different judges in different jurisdictions.

Synthetic surgical mesh is used to treat pelvic organ prolapse in women, as well as stress urinary incontinence. It is a petroleum-based polypropylene mesh-like substance, permanently implanted to hold up the organs in place when they have fallen within the body. Age, genetics, childbirth, and a lack of exercise are all thought to contribute to the conditions.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports a five-fold increase in complications such as mesh erosion, migration, shrinkage, nerve damage, and intense abdominal pain, as well as infection. And the FDA has no real handle on the actual number of complications because the manufacturers are not required to track them. The Jacksonville transvaginal mesh injury attorneys of Farah & Farah are sensitive to listening to your concerns following a mesh implant. There is a limited time within which to bring an action, so starting the conversation may put you one step closer to finding some resolution to your pain and disability. Call us at 1(800) 533-35555.

Source: http://www.transvaginal-mesh-lawsuits.com/

Lawsuits involving defective Avaulta vaginal mesh made by the C.R. Bard Company are getting one step closer to being heard. A judge presiding over the cases will hold a hearing this week to determine if eight cases will be ready for trial soon. These will be so-called bellwether cases with selected plaintiffs who represent some of the common problems women have suffered as a result of mesh used to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Complications include: debilitating abdominal pain, mesh migration and shrinkage, perforation of organs, and repeat infections. Bard makes Avaulta, as well as PelviLace, PelviSoft, Uretex, Align, and Pelvicol.

Multidistrict litigation (MDL) consolidates hundreds of cases filed in courts around the country and puts them before one judge, who then becomes familiarized with the issues facing all of the plaintiffs. Multidistrict litigation saves plaintiffs the costs of individual trials in that it allows for a coordinated discovery process where the plaintiffs can share what is uncovered from the other side. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will hear arguments from both sides on January 26, including whether or not injuries in three different MDLs concerning Bard and other makers of mesh should be consolidated before Judge Goodwin in the U.S. District Court for the southern district of West Virginia.

Bard is just one of nine manufacturers of synthetic transvaginal mesh which has caused thousands of women to experience serious complications and even death. The plaintiffs contend the mesh makers knew, or should have known, that transvaginal mesh was defective in its design and that the mesh should never have been put on the market. The FDA issued a July, 2011 report that found a five-fold increase in complications and deaths associated with synthetic mesh.

With about 300,000 synthetic mesh products implanted in women in 2010, and no accurate numbers on the complication rate, the transvaginal mesh lawyers in Florida of Farah & Farah are talking to women from Florida and South Georgia who may be suffering in silence with the effects of this synthetic plastic mesh product. There is a statute of limitations within which to act, so call us at 1(800) 533-3555 and we can begin a complimentary and confidential consultation on your injuries.

It may sound too devastating to be true, but some surgical mesh devices, including Bard Avaulta products, implanted in the vaginal walls of women to help alleviate pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) have caused serious health complications and physical injury.

The West Virginia Record reports that lawsuits are pending regarding surgical mesh devices causing organ injury in women. Requests were made to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation last month to assign all 34 mesh complication cases, in addition to two from other districts, from Georgia to West Virginia. Attorneys making the request believe that the District Judge in West Virginia has become more acquainted with the issues at hand and the situation of the parties involved through pretrial handling of consolidated cases in his court.

The women filing surgical mesh injury lawsuits are seeking damages from C.R. Bard, Inc., the manufacturer and seller of Avaulta Plus and Avaulta Solo synthetic surgical mesh tissue supports. Some of the plaintiffs are also seeking damages from Covidien Inc., which manufactures Avaulta mesh supports.

The FDA issued a public health warning in October 2008 regarding serious Bard Avaulta surgical mesh complications. Over 1,000 reports from nine surgical mesh manufacturers about complications connected to surgical mesh devices have been reported to the FDA.

Some of the most frequently reported complications associated with surgical mesh devices used to alleviate POP and SUI symptoms include the mesh eroding into the vaginal wall; pain; urinary problems; discomfort during sexual intercourse; infection; bowel, bladder, and blood vessel damage; and recurrence of the prolapsed organs and incontinence. Some women have even required additional surgeries to either remove the surgical mesh or provide drainage of hematomas or abscesses, IV therapy, and blood transfusions.