Washington State and California have filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson alleging that the company has misrepresented the safety of vaginal mesh implant devices by failing to warn patients and physicians of the associated risks.

Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson stated that the consumer protection lawsuit was filed in King County Superior Court in Washington.

AG Ferguson claims that thousands of women in the state have suffered complications from the vaginal mesh implant devices, and more than 12,000 devices have been sold so far.

California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris has also filed a lawsuit against the company, and claims her state was instrumental in leading an investigation into the product.

Vaginal mesh implant devices are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women.

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the organs held in a woman’s pelvic area, namely the bladder, bowel and uterus, descend downward. This condition is common after childbirth, a hysterectomy and as a result of menopause.

Stress urinary incontinence is a condition when an activity causes a small amount of urine to leak from the urethra, and commonly happens as a result of coughing or sneezing, often due to weak pelvic muscles.

Earlier this year, the U.S. FDA relabeled vaginal mesh products as being high-risk instead of the previous classification of moderate risk.

The allegations in the lawsuits state that Johnson & Johnson violated consumer protection laws by purposefully concealing the risks and dangers of vaginal mesh implant devices from the public.

Attorney General Harris has stated that consumers who used vaginal mesh implant devices believed they were making informed choices by choosing the best care for themselves to support their personal health.

However, doing so was not possible when Johnson & Johnson provided inaccurate information to the public.

Not only were consumers left in the dark, the Attorneys General stated that the doctors performing imaginal mesh implant procedures in patients with pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence were essentially using their own patients in unregulated clinical trials.

Johnson & Johnson is already facing more than 25,000 personal injury lawsuits individually filed by consumers nationwide.

Johnson & Johnson has recently had two jury verdicts that indicated they failed to reveal known risks associated with that vaginal mesh implant devices.

One woman was awarded $12.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages and the other woman was awarded $13.5 million in damages.

Worldwide, Johnson & Johnson has sold more than 2 million vaginal mesh implant devices as of last year. Other companies making vaginally mesh products have had similar problems reported as well.

The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Harris alleges that the vaginal mesh implant products were marketed to consumers as being minimally invasive and having minimal risks, but neglected disclosing the potential for complications that could be permanent and debilitating.

The California lawsuit further alleges that Johnson & Johnson marketed the product in this way despite the advice of its own medical advisors, who allegedly urged the company to warn doctors and patients of the potential problematic risks associated with the product use.

According to the lawsuit, not only did Johnson & Johnson refused to do this initially, but continued refusing to alert doctors and patients even after receiving reports of complications arising for the products that were serious and life-altering in nature.

Complications from vaginal mesh include painful intercourse, chronic pelvic pain, mesh erosion, chronic inflammation and infection, urinary incontinence, recurrent pelvic organ prolapse, bladder and bowel perforations, vaginal and pelvic scarring and penile injury experienced by male sexual partners, among others.