Atrium Medical Corporation, along with several other defendants, face a new hernia repair lawsuit brought by a Missouri man alleging he suffered serious injuries after being implanted with the C-Qur Mesh product.

Plaintiff Kent R. filed the hernia repair lawsuit in New Hampshire federal court. The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 4, 2018, joins an increasing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the companies.

According to the lawsuit, Kent was implanted with the C-Qur Mesh V-Patch on June 12, 2014. However, after allegedly experiencing serious adverse effects including infection, umbilical removal, chronic pain, and additional surgery, Kent decided to have the hernia mesh removed. Kent had removal surgery on Oct. 17, 2014.

Thehernia repair lawsuit asserts multiple claims including negligence, design defect, manufacturing defect, failure to warn, defective product, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraudulent concealment, and constructive fraud. Kent demands a trial by jury.

Hernia Repair Lawsuit Overview

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a hernia occurs when an organ pushes through connective tissue or muscle. A hernia can be caused by an increase of pressure on the abdomen and often occurs at the wall of the abdomen.

A hernia may develop due to a variety of conditions and activities.  These include lifting heavy objects, having to cough or sneeze a lot, constipation, diarrhea, and obesity.

Some of the most common hernias are ventral hernias which occur at the abdominal/ventral wall, inguinal hernias which are occur at the inner groin, incisional hernias which occur due to an incision made in the abdomen, umbilical hernias which occur at the naval, and hiatal which occur inside the abdomen.

To help aid in recovery, patients can have a hernia mesh implanted to help support damaged tissue. Unfortunately, some patients have alleged suffering severe complications as result of having the hernia surgical mesh implanted.

Atrium’s C-Qur mesh is composed of a polypropylene coating made of Omega-3 oil. Although the purpose of the oil is to prevent the mesh from becoming attached to the body’s tissues, lawsuits allege that this does not always occur. The C-Qur mesh was approved by the FDA’s fast-track approval system, the 510(k) program, allowing the product to bypass premarket studies.

Some of the alleged complications include wall tears, sepsis, lack of mesh ingrowth, bowel obstruction, puncture of other organs of the abdomen, peritonitis, and abscesses.

Some issues surrounding Atrium’s C-Qur mesh include a warning letter sent by the FDA to Atrium for failing to address patient complaints of sterility and infection after receiving the implant. A Class 2 recall was also issued by Atrium, in July 2013. This was allegedly due to increased infection risks that could be caused if the coating of the C-Qur mesh stuck to the package lining during increased humidity levels.

Kent’s Hernia Repair Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-00011-LM in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. The Hernia Mesh MDL is In re: Atrium Medical Corp., C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2753, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.