A vaginal mesh lawsuit was filed against Ethicon by a Minnesota woman who allegedly was injured by the Gynecare TVT vaginal mesh sling.

Plaintiff Mary A. Schultz claims she developed serious and debilitating injuries that required corrective surgery. Schultz had the sling implanted in 2005 to treat her pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The medical device was recommended by her physician after reviewing advertisements by the defendants, the vaginal mesh lawsuit says.

Ethicon’s marketing statements led the plaintiff and physician to believe that the Gynecare TVT sling was best suited for the patient’s needs, the vaginal mesh lawsuit says. However, the defendant failed to mention any possibility of the kinds of injuries or side effects associated with this product, according to the vaginal mesh lawsuit.

Not long after the Gynecare sling was implanted, Schultz started suffering debilitating pain and bladder spasms, the vaginal mesh lawsuit says. Additionally, Schultz reports that her urinary incontinence had returned, and that she had suffered mesh erosion and infection, and other side effects. Schultz claims that Ethicon made no effort to warn her or her physician about these possibilities, and made no move to provide relevant studies.

This Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit is Mary A. Schultz v. Ethicon Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, Case No. 2:14-cv-26841, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Overview of Vaginal Mesh Complications

Injured vaginal mesh patients are filing vaginal mesh lawsuits against manufacturing companies for the side effects they allegedly suffered from the products. The problems typically reported from vaginal mesh include infection, organ tearing, extreme pain during sex, and developing non-cancerous tumors in the surgical areas.

Vaginal mesh systems were initially created for the purpose of treating certain gynecological problems. Women often developed POP or SUI after childbirth. Sometimes the lower support system of the woman’s pelvis did not go back into place properly and started causing problems.