In recent power morcellator news, the multidistrict litigation recently established for dozens of Ethicon power morcellation lawsuits is moving forward.

Court documents indicate that discovery is now underway in cases filed on behalf of plaintiffs considered to be “in-extremis,” which includes women who are in dire health condition or near death.

At least 34 power morcellation lawsuits are pending in the U.S. District Court in the District of Kansas, where all such federal claims involving devices manufactured by Ethicon, Inc. have been consolidated for the purposes of coordinated pretrial proceedings. All of the cases were filed on behalf of women who allegedly experienced the spread and upstaging of dangerous uterine cancers due to one of the company’s morcellator devices.

According to an Order issued by the Court on January 7th, discovery in cases involving living plaintiffs who are “in extremis” was to begin on or after January 11th.

“A person will be considered ‘in extremis’ when she is expected to reach, within the next twelve months, a state or condition of difficulty in testifying competently in a deposition or being no longer capable of testifying competently in a deposition and is unlikely to recover sufficiently to provide competent testimony at a later date,” the Order states.

What Is a Power Morcellator?

A morcellator is a medical device (tool) used during uterine procedures such as hysterectomies or myomectomies.  During morcellation surgery, the device slices fibroids (uterine masses) or the uterus into small pieces or fragments in order for the tissue to be removed through small incisions in the abdomen in minimally invasive surgery.

Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop from the muscular tissue of the uterus and are developed by most women during their lives, although most cause no symptoms. However, for those women that are experiencing symptoms such as heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, pelvic pressure or pain, and frequent urination, they may need to undergo treatment for their condition.

Treatment for uterine fibroids could be traditional surgical hysterectomy or myomectomy.  Many women choose the laparoscopic morcellation surgery (hysterectomy or myomectomy) as an alternative because of the shorter post-operative recovery time and reduced risk of infection.

Morcellation Surgery Risks

On April 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced to the public and physicians that they discourage the use of laparoscopic power morcellation when it involves the removal of the uterus or uterine fibroids.  They stated, “based on an analysis of currently available data, it poses a risk of spreading unsuspected cancerous tissue, notably uterine sarcomas, beyond the uterus.”

This reduces the patient’s likelihood of long-term survival.  It is further explained that there isn’t a reliable method for predicting whether a woman with fibroids may have a uterine sarcoma.

Approximately 1 in 350 women have unsuspected uterine cancer known as sarcoma, according to the FDA.  The FDA has also estimated the tool has been used in 50,000 hysterectomies a year.

In May 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported morcellator news regarding an investigation the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched into whether Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon division was aware of and failed to disclose to government safety regulators and the physicians the risk of cancer being spread by morcellators.

Power Morcellator Litigation

Ethicon, which actually withdrew its morcellator products from the market in July 2014, is not the only device company facing litigation over the devices. Morcellator cancer lawsuits are also pending against other manufacturers including Karl Storz, Richard Wolf Medical Instruments, and Gyrus ACMI. However, only those involving Ethicon have been centralized in a single federal court.

If Ethicon fails to settle the pending multidistrict litigation, the Court will proceed in scheduling bellwether trials. According to morcellator news sources, the next status conference is set for February 10 where issues including case-specific discovery and disclosure orders will be addressed.