A Philadelphia pelvic mesh trial has finally come to an end, with the plaintiff winning a major $57 million verdict from the jury.

This pelvic mesh trial is not the first of its kind in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. It’s part of a mass tort program, with a slew of lawsuits filed over defective Ethicon pelvic mesh implants.

This pelvic mesh trial dealt with a lawsuit filed by plaintiff Ella E., who alleged that she was implanted with two Ethicon pelvic mesh devices that were both negligently and defectively designed. These devices, she claimed, “mutilated” her urethra and took away her ability to control her urinary flow.

Ella was first implanted with Ethicon’s TVT-Secur mesh implant back in May 2007 in order to treat stress urinary incontinence. When her condition failed to improve, she was implanted with a second TVT implant from Ethicon. Three years later, Ella told her doctor that she was not only experiencing significant pelvic pain, but also having trouble controlling a sudden need to urinate. At this point, doctors found that Ella’s mesh had significantly shifted in position and had eroded into her urethra, causing serious damage.

The damage was so serious, in fact, that it required several surgical procedures to fix. Ella underwent procedures that cut her from “hip to hip,” her attorney said, attempting to remove the mesh. Unfortunately, even after these operations, Ella has been left with serious scarring as well as damaged urethra, leaving her essentially incontinent, her attorney stated during the closing arguments of the pelvic mesh trial.

The specific Ethicon devices named in Ella’s lawsuit are the TVT-Secur device, which is no longer available on the market, as well as Ethicon’s “standard” TVT product, which is still available.

Four previous cases from the program have gone before a jury, but this recent pelvic mesh trial had by far the most significant verdict. The previous highest verdict in a Philadelphia pelvic mesh trial amounted to a $20 million award. Ella’s pelvic mesh trial verdict more than doubled that amount.

Pelvic Mesh Device Background

Pelvic mesh products are fairly common, and many have benefited from these implants. Pelvic mesh is often used to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). However, these devices have been linked with serious and even permanently damaging complications.

Pelvic Mesh Side Effects

Thousands of women across the country have reported a number of serious side effects after implantation with pelvic mesh, including:

• Severe pelvic pain
• Chronic pain
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Mesh erosion
• Mesh tearing
• Organ perforation
• Urinary problems
• Vaginal scarring
• Pain during intercourse

More and more pelvic mesh patients are filing lawsuits over these complications, many of which have led to further surgery to remove the device and fix what it damaged. Of course, any device removal surgery, including pelvic mesh removal, will bring with it its own risks of infection, complications, and failure, as well as extra medical expenses.

Pursuing a Pelvic Mesh Trial

Tens of thousands of patients who have suffered from pelvic mesh complications that necessitated pelvic mesh removal surgery are filing lawsuits against their mesh device’s manufacturers.

If you or someone you love had pelvic mesh removal surgery because of damage from mesh side effects, or you have a pelvic mesh removal surgery scheduled, you may be able to file a pelvic mesh lawsuit. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by pelvic mesh complications, and can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.