A vaginal mesh lawsuit has been filed against Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson medical device subsidiary, by a Georgia resident who alleges she sustained a personal injury after she was implanted with the Prolift vaginal mesh product.

On Oct. 28, plaintiff Jean P. filed this Ethicon vaginal mesh lawsuit in a Georgia federal court alleging she sustained bodily injury from the pelvic implant product.

Jean was implanted with the Prolift vaginal mesh device in April 2009 at her local Savannah Hospital. Sometime after the surgery, Jean began to experience vaginal mesh complications, which she claims stem from a design defect of the Prolift product.

Jean brings several allegations against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, including negligence, manufacturing defect, failure to warn, defective product, design defect, common law fraud, fraudulent concealment, constructive fraud, negligent misrepresentation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, breach of express and implied warranties, violation of consumer protection laws, gross negligence, unjust enrichment, loss of consortium, punitive damages, and discovery rule and tolling.

Jean is not the only woman to pursue a vaginal mesh lawsuit against Ethicon and other vaginal mesh manufacturers. Many woman who have suffered bodily injury from an allegedly defective tranvaginal mesh product have filed vaginal mesh lawsuits or joined existing vaginal mesh class action lawsuits.

The Ethicon Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:14-cv-27329, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Ethicon Prolift Vaginal Mesh System

The Ethicon Gynecare Prolift Mesh is a transvaginal mesh device made from absorbable plastic fibers designed to be implanted within a woman’s pelvis in order to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson introduced the Prolift pelvic mesh system into the medical device market around March 2005.

However, after receiving numerous reports of vaginal mesh complications regarding several different vaginal mesh products and brand names, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a 2008 Public Health Notice, warning physicians and consumers of the possible vaginal mesh side effects.

In 2011, Ethicon and other manufacturers of transvaginal mesh products submitted over 1,000 adverse effect reports to the FDA, leading the agency to order these companies to perform extensive research and testing on existing vaginal mesh systems.

Jean’s Ethicon vaginal mesh lawsuit has been consolidated with hundreds of other vaginal mesh complaints in the multidistrict litigation In Re: Ethicon Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation.

Background on Vaginal Mesh

Vaginal mesh products (also known as transvaginal mesh systems) are medical devices made from porous synthetic materials, or sometimes biological materials, designed to be implanted in a woman’s pelvic cavity to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence.

However, in July 2011, the FDA released a Public Health Notification warning consumers of the dangers allegedly associated with the use of vaginal or transvaginal mesh.

Some vaginal mesh side effects consumers may experience include:

• Pain during intercourse
• Urinary issues
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Scarring in the vaginal area
• Perforated bowels, bladder, and/or blood vessels
• Mesh erosion into the vaginal cavity
• Infection
• Various organ injuries

Many of the vaginal mesh complications listed above require surgeries and treatments, including vaginal mesh removal surgery, IV therapy, blood transfusions, and surgical draining of abscesses and hematomas.