Lawyers involved in the growing power morcellator litigation movement have announced there has been a significant development. These power morcellator lawsuits filed throughout U.S. District courts are in discovery processes with numerous claims set to be completed at the end of this summer.

This development means that some of the earliest power morcellator lawsuits filed are finally seeing some progress, stirring anticipation in both parties. The discovery process is scheduled to be completed by July 30, 2015, with a settlement conference scheduled earlier on May 26, 2015, and the first jury trial scheduled for Nov. 23, 2015. If a settlement cannot be reached between the plaintiffs and the defendants before the November trial date, the evidence will be presented to judge and jury.

The power morcellator lawsuit set for the November trial is a power morcellation wrongful death claim, filed by plaintiff Scott B. who claimed that his wife died due to the device defects of the defendant’s power morcellator. In his morcellation lawsuit, Scott states that his wife died in 2013 due to uterine sarcoma, after his wife underwent a hysterectomy procedure using Lina Medical’s power morcellator. Scott claims that neither he nor his wife had any prior awareness to the fact that power morcellators carry a high risk of inducing an aggressive form of uterine cancer. Like many other women who allegedly suffered morcellation cancer, Scott’s wife was diagnosed at a latent stage and had very little treatment options.

Scott claims that the defendant provided no safety warnings or surgical instructions to their physician and made no mention of the possible spread of uterine sarcoma. The plaintiff is bringing charges of negligence, strict liability, breach of express warranty, false advertising, and concealing information. There have been numerous other power morcellation lawsuits filed after Scott’s claim, alleging similar power morcellator injuries and damage claims. These morcellator cancer complications have led to widespread concern in the medical community, spawning numerous studies and need for safety regulations.

Overview of Power Morcellator Complications

Numerous health institutions and medical centers are now placing tight restrictions on power morcellator devices for uterine surgery use. One medical institution in particular, Johns Hopkins University, has gone as far to create a new protocol limiting the use of power morcellators for laparoscopic surgery, mostly for uterine fibroid removal, in order to decrease the risk of spreading possible uterine cancer. This protocol was created after the university reviewed numerous cases spanning over the past decade of power morcellator surgeries leading to the spread of uterine cancer.

Johns Hopkins also implemented this policy due to a previous FDA warning sent to surgeons and other healthcare providers regarding the risk on Nov. 24, 2015. Experts explain that when power morcellators are used in uterine fibroid surgery, they may accidentally rupture undetected uterine sarcomas, if present, when removing uterine fibroids. This causes the cancer cells to spread rapidly with an almost always devastating prognosis for the patient. The FDA warns that there is currently no diagnostic method available to detect uterine sarcoma prior to laparoscopic surgery, leading experts to recommend against it altogether.

The popularity of power morcellators came from the devices’ efficiency — the ability to make accurate tiny incisions at the surgical site, and the promise of shorter hospital recovery time. Power morcellators were considered one of the greatest medical innovations when the first model was approved by the FDA, which was supposed to allow complete reassurance for women undergoing these highly invasive surgeries. While some companies are taking steps to improve the safety of these devices, such as the surgical sack that is sometimes attached to the power morcellator meant to catch debris during surgery, it will take some time for the power morcellators to completely recover their deadly reputation.

The Power Morcellator Lawsuit is Case No: 5:14-cv-1557, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.