Medical device manufacturer C.R. Bard is facing a new pelvic mesh lawsuit, which has been added to the multidistrict litigation (MDL) the company is currently facing over serious mesh complications.

Plaintiff Vonda H. of Tennessee is suing C.R. Bard for alleged complications she suffered from their pelvic mesh product, the Bard Pelvicol.

Vonda received the pelvic mesh implant on April 28, 2004, to treat either her stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

There are a number of situations that can lead to the need for pelvic mesh, such as traumatic accidents or childbirth.

Pelvic mesh was first innovated in the 1950s to treat abdominal hernias, but was soon later adapted to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.

Manufacturing companies soon developed their own pelvic mesh models, with women opting for a discrete treatment method for their personal injuries.

Pelvic mesh is a woven synthetic material, meant to stabilize the pelvic area and preventing organ prolapse or urinary incontinence.

Overview of Pelvic Mesh Complications

Many women have reported that pelvic mesh has caused them to suffer serious and painful injuries, such as mesh erosion and mesh tearing.

Oftentimes revision surgery is required to resolve these problems, which is more complicated and high risk than the initial surgery.

Between the years 2005 and 2007, the FDA had received 1,000 pelvic mesh injury reports including several deaths. This had caused the agency to investigate the risks of pelvic mesh in October 2008, with the agency reporting 2,900 injury reports submitted between 2008 and 2010.

By 2011, the FDA concluded that pelvic mesh injuries were not rare and that pelvic mesh was no more effective in treating POP or SUI than other non mesh treatments.

By January 2012, the FDA stated that pelvic mesh devices are subject to post market studies after receiving extensive data from the 2011 Obstetrics Gynecology Devices Panel meeting.

Medical experts are now being advised to use caution when considering recommending a pelvic mesh product.

Pelvic Mesh Lawsuits

Vonda agreed to have the Bard Pelvicol mesh product treat her condition and had no knowledge of the alleged injuries she was forced to contend with.

She is suing C.R. Bard for failing to warn her of mesh complications, as well as failing to provide any warnings or surgical instructions to her surgeon.

Vonda’s pelvic mesh lawsuit is being filed in the MDL Bard is facing in the District Court of West Virginia. Her claim is joining other pelvic mesh lawsuits, alleging similar injuries and complications.

By consolidating lawsuits, Vonda and other claimants move along the litigation process faster and reduce the chances of receiving conflicting results from different judges.

At this point in time, over 75,000 women have filed legal action for their pelvic mesh injuries.

The Pelvic Mesh Lawsuit is filed In Re: C. R. Bard, Inc. Pelvic System Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 2:16-cv-04371, in the U.S. District Court of Southern West Virginia.