In Ohio, a patient joins a growing multi-district litigation against Davol Inc. and C.R. Bard Inc., claiming that their inguinal hernia mesh product is defective and caused him injury.

Plaintiff Douglas I. has joined the hernia mesh multidistrict litigation against Davol Inc. and C.R. Bard Inc. In his inguinal hernia mesh lawsuit, Douglas claims that he had the Bard Hernia Mesh inserted into his body to repair a hernia. He says that the product caused him a number of physical injuries because the device’s design was defective.

Douglas claims that Bard and Davol knew or should have known that their hernia mesh products could cause a patient injury, and failed to warn patients of this risk. Allegedly, the company continued to sell the products despite the fact that they know or should have known that the product was dangerous and defective.

Hernia mesh is a medical device used to repair hernias in a patient’s body. Hernias are a condition in which tissue or an organ bulges through an abdominal opening, usually through a weak spot in the muscle wall. This can happen in the groin or the inguinal area, in which case an inguinal hernia mesh is used to repair and strengthen the weakened area.

In the inguinal hernia mesh lawsuit, Douglas says that the hernia mesh products made by Bard and Davol are made of materials that are not suited to being in a patient’s body. Allegedly, the companies used polypropylene mesh. Douglas claims that polypropylene is not inert in the human body but instead can swell and shrink after being implanted.

Allegedly, this makes it inappropriate for use in a hernia mesh because it can move from the place in which it was inserted, possibly puncturing surrounding tissue or making it unable to stay in place and effectively repair the weakened spot in a patient’s body.

The inguinal hernia mesh lawsuit goes on to state that “it is well known within the scientific and medical community that the polypropylene used for surgical treatment begins to degrade after implantation in the human body, which can lead to infection and irritation, and result in serious pain as the body tries to rid itself of the foreign material.”

Douglas says that Davol and Bard falsely advertised their hernia mesh products like the inguinal hernia mesh as being safe and effective and a positive choice for many hernia patients. He says the scientific literature on hernia mesh repair and products used in hernia mesh does not suggest that polypropylene mesh does not improve a patient’s results over traditional, non-mesh repair methods.

Additionally, the inguinal hernia mesh lawsuit says that polypropylene hernia mesh can cause patients to develop infections because when bacteria collects in the mesh, the patient’s body is unable to get rid of it using the immune system and natural defense.

The Inguinal Hernia Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-01535-EAS-KAJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.