Another vaginal mesh complaint has been added to the mounting number of lawsuits filed against Ethicon (a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson), alleging that the company fraudulently concealed the dangers of transvaginal mesh devices and has violated consumer protection laws.

According to the transvaginal mesh MDL, Ethicon negligently manufactured and sold defective and unreasonably dangerous products, and subsequently withheld information from consumers and the medical community about the risk that transvaginal mesh may erode through the vagina, causing infections and other personal injuries.

Among the most recent vaginal mesh lawsuits filed during the 2014 year is that of a Missouri woman. Plaintiff Traci C. filed her Ethicon lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in October of last year. Traci claims that the Ethicon manufactured TVT mesh device implanted surgically in her during May 2004 was negligently designed, thereby causing serious side effects such as mesh erosion, organ damage, chronic pain, and other vaginal mesh complications.

What Is The Transvaginal Mesh Product Used For?

Transvaginal Mesh and Transvaginal Tension Free Vaginal Tape (TVT mesh) are medical devices that are surgically implanted to treat pelvic organ prolapse and/or stress urinary incontinence. Transvaginal mesh surgery is supposed to strengthen the internal organs and prevent them from coming into contact with each other by implanting mesh tape to create extra support.

Transvaginal Mesh Complications

A significant number of the adverse events reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding pelvic mesh implants are due to mesh erosion side effects. Mesh erosion through the vaginal tissue can cause pain, bleeding, and infection. In addition, most surgical mesh products are made of polypropylene, a material that can shrink after being implanted, causing serious side effects as well as the return of the pelvic organ prolapse or female stress urinary incontinence condition.

Common symptoms of vaginal sling failure include:

• Urinary incontinence
• Abdominal pain
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Bleeding

The injuries that women are reportedly suffering from this vaginal mesh implant are severe, debilitating, and could have been avoided had consumers been properly informed. According to several vaginal mesh lawsuits, the edges of the mesh/sling cut through the skin after implantation, thus causing infection, cutting into nearby structures, and sometimes puncturing the bladder, bowel, and uterus.

Additionally, petroleum based synthetic material is particularly capable of causing infection because the material itself is a “breeding ground” for bacteria. Complications from these infections include incontinence, extreme pain during intercourse, urinary tract infection, back pain, inability to walk, among other vaginal mesh complications. Some of these infections spread through the whole body and can lead to death.

Ethicon Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits

Nearly 100,000 individual vaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed against various mesh manufacturers in the United States as a result of these alleged vaginal mesh injuries. The lawsuits allege that the manufacturers sold defective and unreasonably dangerous products, in addition to withholding information from consumers and the medical community about the risk that the vaginal mesh may erode through the vagina, causing infections and other injuries.

In her individual vaginal mesh lawsuit, Traci C. is seeking restitution and punitive damages for Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson’s alleged gross negligence and failure to warn about dangerous vaginal mesh complications.

The Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:14-cv-27062 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division and the Ethicon Transvaginal Mesh MDL is In re: Ethicon Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.