A number of lawsuits have been filed against Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, alleging the company’s hernia mesh caused personal injury. One of the first Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuits to have been filed now has a set trial date of July 22, 2018.

Back in May 2016, a market withdrawal was issued by the FDA for Ethicon’s product called Physiomesh. After the market withdrawal, all of the Ethicon hernia mesh products under the Physiomesh classification were removed from the market around the world. Ethicon was unable to determine the cause of hernia mesh repair issues that had been reported.

Plaintiff Matthew H. filed his Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuit back in April 2016, prior to the Physiomesh market withdrawal. Matthew filed his lawsuit in Illinois federal court and brought forth allegations of strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranties.

He states that he suffered pain, mental anguish and other problems associated with the Ethicon hernia mesh.

Matthew received his Ethicon hernia mesh implant when he underwent hernia repair surgery on his abdominal wall in 2013. About two years later, Matthew began experiencing symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, severe abdominal pain and redness on the skin of his abdomen.

It was later found out that the hernia mesh was infected, causing two abdominal abscesses and an intestinal fistula requiring surgery.

In his Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuit, Matthew is seeking damages related to medical expenses, physical impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages, loss of wage earning capacity, physical pain and mental anguish as well as punitive damages.

Other Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuits have similar allegations against the manufacturer. Additional problems that have been reported associated with various hernia mesh materials like Physiomesh and other mesh include adhesions, organ perforation, small bowel obstruction, inflammation, reaction to components of mesh, rejection of the mesh, failure of the hernia mesh and more.

It is anticipated that as a result of the Ethicon hernia mesh market withdrawal, many more lawsuits will continue to be filed, and some estimate that the lawsuits will number into the thousands.

If the number of lawsuits continues to increase, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may consider consolidating the cases into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) overseen by a single judge at a single federal court.

If an MDL is established, it will allow all of the discovery and pretrial proceedings to be coordinated at a single location and will help to avoid conflicting rulings.

If an MDL is established, it will likely affect the scheduling of Matthew’s Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuit, as his case would likely be filed within the multidistrict litigation at that point.

Filing an Ethicon Hernia Mesh Lawsuit

If you or a loved one has experienced personal injury after having surgery with Ethicon hernia mesh, or other brands of hernia mesh, you may be entitled to legal compensation as a result of the injury. An experienced hernia mesh attorney is available to provide a free case review to eligible individuals and can provide guidance on the legal options that may be available to pursue.