More than 20 morcellation cancer lawsuits wait for court approval for consolidation into a single multidistrict litigation (MDL).

These morcellator cancer lawsuits similarly allege that use of the medical tool during either a hysterectomy or myomectomy procedure caused the development of uterine cancer in numerous women.

The power morcellator lawsuits were filed by women with advanced uterine sarcoma or by their surviving family members. Plaintiffs allege that the medical device used to shred uterine tissues during laparoscopic  surgery leads to an aggressive form of uterine cancer.

Uterine tissue that contained undetected cancerous cells were broken up into fragments and left in the pelvic area and allowed to spread onto surrounding organs.

Oral arguments for consolidating the morcellation lawsuits went before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) and the plaintiffs of these cases should hear the panel’s decision in a few weeks.

FDA Power Morcellation Warnings

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that one in 350 women who undergo surgery that uses a power morcellator will be diagnosed with uterine sarcoma.

By April 2014, the federal agency issued warnings to the medical community and patients about the link between power morcellation and the spread of uterine cancer. The FDA added a “black box” warning to power morcellators which is the strongest caution before the agency will remove the product from the U.S. market.

The agency states, “if laparoscopic power morcellation is performed in women with unsuspected uterine sarcoma, there is a risk that the procedure will spread the cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis, significantly worsening the patient’s likelihood of long-term survival.”

In the 2014 FDA warning, the agency encouraged physicians and patients to take the following actions when considering use of a power morcellator:

Physicians were asked to “carefully consider alternative treatment options for the removal of symptomatic uterine fibroid” and to limit the number of laparoscopic incisions that use a power morcellator.

Patients were urged to find out ahead of time if a doctor plans to use a power morcellator during a  laparoscopic hysterectomy or myomectomy.

After the FDA went public with the risks associated with power morcellator use, Johnson & Johnson stopped selling the medical tool indefinitely.

However, this action did not stop a growing number of morcellation cancer lawsuits from being filed against the leading manufacturers of power morcellators. Plaintiffs of these suits claim that Johnson & Johnson (among others) were aware of the serious cancer risks involved with using the product but downplayed any concerns.

Morcellation Cancer Lawsuits

Hundreds of power morcellator cancer lawsuits have been filed across the U.S. by plaintiffs who claim that manufacturers assured physicians and patients that the surgical tool was a reasonably safe device.

In general, plaintiffs allege that manufacturers ignored years of studies that showed a possible link between the power morcellator and uterine sarcoma. In addition, those filing morcellation cancer lawsuits claim that manufacturers knew or should have known about the cancer risks linked to the medical device but failed to fully warn patients.

Contact a morcellation cancer attorney to find out if you have legal claim.