Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog
Vaginal mesh side effects continue to plague the blockbuster plastic medical devices with severe and catastrophic complications.
But just don’t take my word for it, according to court documents, Vaginal Mesh Injury lawsuit claims continue to be filed nationwide and have been so for the past 7 years.
Over 100,000 Vaginal Mesh lawsuits filed
Hundreds of thousands of women who had a vaginal mesh or bladder sling implanted to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or stress urinary incontinence (SUI) have suffered from serious internal injuries, devastating urinary incontinence, recurrent bladder infections and other major complications from the commonly used popular medical devices.
Seventh Year of Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits
Now in the seventh year of vaginal mesh litigation, the women claim that negligent design of the plastic mesh increase the risk that women may suffer serious side effects, pain, infections and usually require additional corrective surgery.
West Virginia Federal Multidistrict Litigation
As of February 15, 2017, according to court documents, more than 100,000 lawsuits had been filed in the federal court system claiming complications from vaginal mesh and bladder sling medical devices.
These claims have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings as part of a MDL, or multidistrict litigation, before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia for fast track discovery and bellwether trials.
Judge Goodwin is currently presiding over seven different MDLs of vaginal mesh and bladder slings, including those made by Bard Avaulta, American Medical Systems (AMS), Boston Scientific, Johnson and Johnson Ethicon Gynecare, Coloplast, Neomedic and Cook Surgisis Biodesign lawsuits.
While most of the vaginal mesh manufacturers have quietly settled thousands of these product liability and personal injury claims, thousands of claims are still winding through the settlement process, which in many cases can take several years to resolve.
What is Vaginal Mesh?
Vaginal mesh, also known as bladder sling, hammock or pelvic mesh, is a medical device made from plastic that is placed into the vagina to prevent POP or SUI. Pelvic organ prolapse causes the uterus or womb to slip into the vaginal area, causing pain and embarrassing urinary incontinence in most cases.
In many cases, transvaginal sling and mesh complications have required multiple complex surgeries to remove the mesh or sling and correct the injuries. Despite painful complicated corrective surgery, women may be left with irreparable and catastrophic injuries.
FDA Warnings
The FDA warned in 2011 that there is no evidence that vaginal mesh bladder sling surgery provides any greater benefit than non-mesh surgeries. The FDA noted that the agency has received thousands of reports of complications after the bladder sling mesh has been implanted, and also warn of an increased risk of organs being punctured during the surgery to implant the devices.
In 2016, the FDA reclassified vaginal mesh as high-risk medical devices and that new and existing vaginal and transvaginal mesh had to go through a strenuous premarket approval process.
If you or a loved was injured by a vaginal mesh or bladder sling device or required surgery to remove the device, contact our office immediately. Our office handles vaginal mesh and bladder sling device lawsuits nationwide.