A $200 million vaginal mesh settlement agreement has been reached between C.R. Bard Inc. and 3,000 cases that claimed their transvaginal mesh and bladder sling products caused severe complications. This settlement will give each plaintiff about $67,000 and resolve about a third of the pending vaginal mesh lawsuits against manufacturer Bard.

The judge overseeing the surgical mesh lawsuits has encouraged Bard to consider large scale settlements like this one, instead of risking owing billions if each vaginal mesh lawsuit faced a jury. In 2013, a West Virginia jury required Bard to pay $2 million to resolve a single transvaginal mesh lawsuit.

Through their court filings, Bard has insisted that the pelvic mesh product is safe and effective; however, they have also decided to add $337 million to its $660 million reserve for product liability cases.

Vaginal Mesh Complications

Pelvic mesh is essentially a hammock-like device that was designed to be a discreet treatment of pelvic organ prolapse, a common medical condition that may occur after childbirth, menopause, or a hysterectomy procedure.

The bladder sling is implanted in the vaginal area to help women with urinary problems. However, shortly after its release on the market, the transvaginal mesh implant started showing signs of severe complications.

More than 4,000 adverse event reports were filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between the years 2005 and 2010 by women who claim the device caused such painful side effects they were often forced to undergo a second surgery to have the vaginal mesh removed.

While organ perforation appears to be the most life-threatening vaginal mesh complication, as it can lead to septic shock if urine leaks into the bloodstream, there are other commonly reported vaginal mesh complications including:

• Vaginal scaring
• Perforated blood vessels
• Painful sexual intercourse
• Bladder infections
• Perforated bladder
• Perforated bowel
• Vaginal infections
• Urinary problems
• Multiple occurrences of pelvic organ prolapse

Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits

More than 50,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed against the implant manufacturers so far. Plaintiffs claim that they were misled into believing the vaginal mesh implant would be a safe and effective treatment of their medical condition, when in fact the device caused crippling pain.

Recent vaginal mesh settlements have also included medical device manufacturer Endo International, who agreed to settle nearly all of the 20,000 AMS transvaginal mesh lawsuits with a $1.6 billion dollar pay out. Manufacturer Boston Scientific has also recently settled 3,000 surgical mesh lawsuits for $119 million.

A vaginal mesh lawsuit case list reported that out of the 50,000 lawsuits pending, half of them are filed against pelvic mesh manufacturer Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary.

Plaintiffs who have filed transvaginal mesh lawsuits seek financial compensation to recover from medical bills, loss of income, as well as the pain and suffering they have endured due to the alleged design defect of the vaginal mesh implant.

Vaginal mesh attorneys are looking for women, spouses, and families who have suffered from a transvaginal mesh problems and want to be compensated. Spouses can file vaginal mesh lawsuits as co-plaintiffs and sue for loss of consortium (loss of intimacy), which may increase a settlement award.

The Transvaginal Mesh MDL is In re C.R. Bard Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 10-md-02187, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia (Charleston).