The federal judge presiding over morcellation cancer lawsuits has appointed a group of attorneys to serve during the proceedings.

The number of morcellation cancer lawsuits filed against Ethicon continues to grow as more women are diagnosed with uterine cancer after going through either a laparoscopic hysterectomy or uterine fibroid removal.

The morcellation cancer lawsuits against Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, have been centralized in the District of Kansas as part of a federal multidistrict litigation, or MDL.

Earlier this month, a conference was held to determine the structure of pretrial proceedings. U.S. District Judge Vratil issued an order appointing 20 different lawyers to leadership roles in this MDL.

Ethicon Power Morcellator Lawsuits

The MDL currently only includes approximately two dozen pending complaints against Ethicon.

However, Ethicon lawyers continue to review and file claims from women who have allegedly suffered from morcellation cancer and their families across the U.S. Ultimately, the MDL is expected to include several hundred total morcellation injury claims.

The morcellation cancer lawsuits all allege similar circumstances. They claim that Ethicon’s power morcellator device is unreasonably dangerous, and that the company failed to adequately warn women and the medical community about the link between morcellation and uterine cancer.

Power morcellators have been used during hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures to remove uterine fibroids. The morcellator’s minimally invasive nature makes it easier for doctors to cut up and remove the uterine fibroids through a tiny abdomen incision.

Though the power morcellator may be minimally invasive during the surgery itself, lawsuits allege that its later effects can be devastating.

While the devices had been popular due to their ability to make tiny incisions, the use of the surgical tool has caused controversy within the medical community due to the association with spreading undiagnosed cancer.

The FDA estimated in April 2014 that approximately one out of every 350 women who undergoes surgery for uterine fibroid removal may have undiagnosed sarcoma cancer. This means that doctors, unable to detect or diagnose the cancer before the procedure, will go into surgery and unknowingly cause the spread of cancerous uterine fibroids with the power morcellator.

Ethicon, which had been the leading manufacturer of power morcellators, announced last year that it would no longer sell the devices.

Plaintiffs involved in morcellation cancer lawsuits claim that Ethicon either knew or should have known about the cancer risks associated with power morcellators. Despite this knowledge, the company withheld this information from women and the medical community about their product’s dangers.

The morcellation cancer risks include leiomyosarcoma. Leiomyosarcoma is a very rare, very aggressive cancer, and would be extremely dangerous or deadly if spread throughout the body.

Power Morcellation Cancer Lawsuits

A growing number of people have begun filing morcellation cancer lawsuits, alleging cancer diagnosis after a surgery that involved the use of a power morcellator. These plaintiffs allege that, had they been adequately warned about the potential dangers of power morcellation surgery, they would not have agreed to the procedure.

If you or someone you know has undergone a surgery where a doctor has used a power morcellator, and have since contracted cancer, you may be able to file a morcellation cancer lawsuit.