C.R. Bard is facing a new hernia mesh lawsuit alleging their Bard Composix mesh product caused the claimant serious long term health complications. The hernia mesh lawsuit was filed by a man from Louisiana, who alleges the Bard Composix mesh was supposed to treat his hernia related injuries but had allegedly made it worse.

Plaintiff Richard W. says he had the Bard Composix mesh implanted on Oct. 24, 2007, to treat his ventral incisional hernia and had reportedly suffered serious complications not long after.

According to the hernia mesh lawsuit, Richard had to undergo surgery to repair a hernia again on April 29, 2008 with surgeons noting a number of serious injuries. Surgeons reportedly noted that there was “wall to wall scar tissue” that needed to be removed, along with bowel adhesions and another hernia had formed.

These injuries required a new Bard Composix mesh product to be implemented, Richard says, which reportedly caused further complications. According to the hernia mesh lawsuit, Richard underwent surgery again on Jan. 27, 2009 to address “severe pain from previous mesh eroding into the abdominal wall.”

During this procedure, surgeons allegedly noted that “these mesh grafts are rock hard and just eroding themselves through the abdominal wall.” These Bard Composix mesh products were removed and an Alloderm patch was used to close the injury, but Richard reportedly continues to suffer long term complications related to hernia mesh failure.

The Bard Composix mesh products were supposed to help treat his hernia, but Richard says they severely compounded his medical condition. Richard opted to file legal action against Bard, after discovering other patients had allegedly suffered similar injuries.

Overview of Hernia Mesh Complications

The Bard Composix mesh products are made of a polypropylene material, which is designed to spur an inflammatory response from the surrounding muscle.

The muscle inflammation is meant to encourage healing in the surgical area, ultimately maximizing the chances of resolving the hernia. However, it has been alleged that the polypropylene material could cause severe adverse biological reactions in patients.

While the muscles typically settle when helping repair the hernia, the products can sometimes cause severe infection in the surgical area. If this is allowed to progress, highly organized resistant bacterial colonies called biofilms can form and are often only treatable through revision surgery due to the infection being resistant to antibiotics.

There have been other injuries reported in conjunction with hernia mesh complications, including specific design defects related to certain products. The hernia mesh lawsuit alleges the Bard Composix mesh products had created a sharp “fishing line” effect that can slice through the patient’s tissue.

This design defect allegedly caused Richard to suffer a number of serious complications like bowel obstructions and serious mesh scarring, which caused him permanent injuries.

Even though these complications can be devastating to patients, Bard allegedly failed to warn their customers against the potential hernia mesh complications.

At all times relevant, Richard says he and and his physician had relied on the marketing materials and product information provided by Bard and had no reason to believe he was at serious risk for such side effects. Richard states that he would not have agreed to have the Bard Composix mesh products implemented if he had known about these problems.

This Bard Composix Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-01490-EAS-KAJ, in the U.S. District Court of Southern Ohio, Eastern Division.