A new vaginal mesh lawsuit has been filed in federal court against Ethicon Inc. and Johnson & Johnson alleging the plaintiff suffered serious injury after being treated with their tension-free vaginal tape.

The vaginal mesh lawsuit was filed by Alabama plaintiff Andrea R., who was treated with the Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson tape on Dec. 9, 2008. According to her vaginal mesh lawsuit, Andrea suffered serious adverse effects.

Andrea’s vaginal mesh lawsuit was filed as a short from complaint as part of the larger multidistrict litigation, or MDL. Multidistrict litigation involves complex lawsuits involving large numbers of people whose cases share common issues.

This enables one court to handle pretrial proceedings and discovery issues collectively, creating consistency and efficiency throughout individual lawsuits. Once pretrial proceedings and discovery have been completed, the individual lawsuits transfer back to their original jurisdiction.

Andrea’s vaginal mesh lawsuit alleges negligence, strict liability, fraud, misrepresentation, breach of warranty, and unjust enrichment.

Overview of Vagina Mesh Products

Transvaginal mesh systems are marketed by medical device manufacturers to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition that occurs when the muscles of the pelvic opening start to malfunction.

This can cause certain pelvic organs, including the bladder, uterus, vagina, small bowel, and rectum to droop. The drooping of these important organs can cause women to experience a variety of symptoms including pressure or fullness in the pelvic area, backache, painful intercourse, urinary problems, constipation, bleeding, or the feeling that something is falling out of the vagina.

For many years pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence has been treated by the use of transvaginal mesh products like tension-free vaginal tape. Many lawsuits assert these transvaginal mesh and bladder sling implants provide no benefit to women.

Instead, many women are suffering serious adverse side effects from the medical devices. Side effects include infection, scarring, perforated bladder, bowel or blood vessels, urinary problems, and pain during sex.

Overview of Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits

Following recent studies, thousands of vaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed in both state and federal courts. These lawsuits generally claim that the medical device manufacturers, like Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, violated consumer protection laws.

Plaintiffs bringing lawsuits are generally direct victims of the vaginal mesh devices. In some cases, victims’ spouses have joined the lawsuits as co-plaintiffs bringing loss of consortium claims, or loss of spousal intimacy claims. Victims seek compensation from the vaginal mesh lawsuits to help pay past and future medical bills as well as compensation for pain and suffering.

This Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-02857, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Charleston Division.