In 2013, a woman underwent surgery for a routine hysterectomy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She died eighteen months later at the age of 52, leading her family to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

During the surgery, a device known as laparoscopic power morcellator was used to perform the procedure that Erica K. underwent. This device is made by the German manufacturer Karl Storz Gmbh & Co. KG.

According to the morcellation cancer lawsuit, the hospital knew of the risks that the device can potentially spread cancer that was not yet diagnosed.

In 2011, Brigham and Women’s Hospital reviewed data over two years about the safety of the power morcellator and raised concerns about the safety of the device and the risks that it carried.

The hospital asserted that there was not enough data to support changing the use of the device. However in 2013, the hospital did acknowledge that the power morcellator did cause the spread of undiagnosed cancer in two patients, including the woman mentioned above.

What are Power Morcellators? How Do They Increase Cancer Risk?

A power morcellator is a medical device used during laparoscopic surgery, which is a minimally invasive surgery. It is often used in gynecological applications such as hysterectomy and uterine fibroid removal.

The morcellator helps to dissolve the uterus and fibroids so that they may be easily removed via the surgical incision. As the morcellator targets the uterus and fibroids, there may be previously undetected cancer cells in the fibroids that the morcellator releases.

Those cells then get disseminated throughout the body and cause the cancer to spread. Cancer that has spread through different areas of the body and is not localized leads to a poorer prognosis and decreased survival rates.

Morcellator “Black Box” FDA Warning

“Black Box” warnings issued by the FDA are reserved for the most serious or life-threatening risks related to the use of a pharmaceutical drug or medical device.

In 2014, the FDA issued such a warning for the power morcellator. The FDA noted that one-out-of-every-350 women who undergoes uterine fibroid surgery may have undiagnosed cancer.

At this time, many hospitals have chosen not to use power morcellators during hysterectomy and fibroid removal procedures. Some health insurances no longer cover morcellation procedures because of their high risk.

Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, the largest producer of the power morcellator, removed their device from the market in July 2014.

Morcellation Lawsuits

Currently, there are at least 22 power morcellation lawsuits that have been filed in federal courts across the country, with another 300 being investigated.

The morcellator lawsuits allege that cancers were diagnosed after laparoscopic surgery to remove uterine fibroids or laproscopic hysterectomy using a power morcellator.

Due to the large number of morcellation lawsuits with similar allegations, there is a possibility that these lawsuits will be consolidated into a multidistrict litigation,or MDL.

In a MDL, all lawsuits are transferred to a single court under a single judge. This assists in using fewer resources, allows trials to proceed more quickly, and allows more consistent rulings.

Filing a Morcellation Cancer Lawsuit

If you or a loved one developed cancer after a surgical procedure involving a power morcellator, you may be entitled to compensation. Lawyers can advise you on filing an individual morcellation lawsuit. All consultations are confidential and are provided at no cost to you.