Ill. Couple Hits Ethicon With Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit

An Illinois woman and her husband filed a vaginal mesh lawsuit in November  against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit after the wife experienced complications from one of the medical device company’s vaginal mesh products.

Kathy Brewer had the Gynecare TVT (transvaginal tension) product implanted on March 12, 2012 at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Illinois, according to her lawsuit.

She and her husband, Edward Brewer, filed the vaginal mesh lawsuit against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson on Nov. 8, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Charleston Division after Mrs. Brewer suffered from adverse side effects related to Ethicon’s Gynecare TVT product that also took a toll on her relationship with her husband.

The Brewers join a long list of thousands of vaginal mesh patients who are suing manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson for marketing and selling medical devices linked to severe complications. In 2012, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would no longer sell surgical mesh products like the Gynecare TVT designed to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence due to the high number of injury reports.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) develops in women due to child birth, a hysterectomy, or menopause. During childbirth the muscles and ligaments are stretched and can tear causing them to become too weak to hold the organs in place. As a result, the bottom of the uterus, the floor of the bladder, the rectum or all three can sag and even protrude into the vagina. Vaginal mesh slings are implanted to hold the organs in place where the muscles have failed.

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the leaking of urine when there is a “stress event,” which can include coughing, sneezing, laughing or lifting–in other words, anything that puts pressure on the the abdomen. This occurs as the result of weakened pelvic muscles and connective tissue that support the bladder and urethra. There can be several causes of SUI including pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, obesity, smoking, and previous pelvic surgery. Over 15 million Americans suffer from SUI.

There are non-surgical treatments, but if they don’t work, then surgery may be the only option, as was the case for Mrs. Brewer.

Products like the Gynecare TVT have resulted in complications such as perforating organs, vaginal mesh erosion, infections, blood vessel laceration, and recurrent prolapse or incontinence, causing severe pain that often lead women to undergo corrective surgery.

After receiving almost 3,000 complaints between 2008 and 2010, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reported that complications with vaginal mesh implants were not rare as they had once reported.

There have been a growing number of vaginal mesh lawsuits since 2011, when the FDA issued a warning saying there was a five-fold increase in vaginal mesh injuries. The frequency of vaginal mesh injuries had increased significantly since the FDA’s initial warning.

The Brewers’ vaginal mesh lawsuit is Kathy Bosi Brewer, et al. v. Ethicon, Inc. et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-28458, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. In Re: Ethicon Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327.

Help for Victims of Vaginal Mesh Complications

If you had revision surgery to repair damage caused by vaginal mesh, or you have surgery scheduled, you may be able to take legal action against the device manufacturer. These companies have already paid out millions of dollars in vaginal mesh lawsuit settlements and are continuing to settle cases. Don’t delay – see if you qualify to pursue compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages by filling out the short form at the Transvaginal Mesh, Bladder Sling Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.