Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson lost yet another legal battle over its pelvic mesh and is set to pay a $20 million vaginal mesh lawsuit award.

This is the third consecutive vaginal mesh lawsuit award of such magnitude Johnson & Johnson has been forced to pay in the vaginal mesh litigation it currently faces.

The vaginal mesh lawsuit was filed by a New Jersey woman who alleges that her mesh device failed and ended up causing serious complications. The plaintiff, Peggy E., filed this lawsuit back in 2013.

Her vaginal mesh device was implanted in 2007 in order to treat stress urinary incontinence. However, the Johnson & Johnson vaginal mesh implant failed after only a month, she claims.

Not only did this cause her original problem, stress urinary incontinence, to return, it also caused new complications of its own. Now, Peggy says she suffers from chronic vaginal pain, pelvic floor spasms and permanent urinary dysfunction.

According to the vaginal mesh lawsuit, the mesh device (a TVT-Secur product) began eroding shortly after implantation. While doctors attempted to remove it, the device had eroded so much that even after three further surgeries, they were unable to remove all of the pieces, Peggy alleges.

In a statement to Law360 regarding the vaginal mesh lawsuit award, the plaintiff acknowledged that her situation reflects the plight of so many other women. “I’m happy I could be a voice for other women. It’s been a nightmare, and I feel justice was truly served today.”

Johnson & Johnson has previously paid a $12.5 million vaginal mesh lawsuit award and another one totaling $13.5 million in recent years.

There are still 183 such vaginal mesh lawsuits pending in the mass tort program. The most recent went to trial on May 8.

Vaginal Mesh Complications

According to vaginal mesh failure lawsuits, women are facing a number of serious complications after being implanted with these devices. The vaginal mesh complications reported by women so far include, but are not limited to:

• Erosion of mesh
• Bladder infection and irritation
• Urinary tract obstruction
• Incontinence
• Bladder, bowel or urethra injury
• Pelvic blood vessel damage
• Painful intercourse
• Bleeding after intercourse
• Swollen wrists
• Bleeding/blistering gums

Vaginal mesh erosion and organ perforation are two of the more common severe problems linked with these devices. These problems can lead to bleeding, severe or chronic pain, infection, and nerve damage side effects.

Surgery to treat vaginal mesh complications can be extremely complicated, given that it passes very close to essential nerves. In some cases, removing a defective or harmful vaginal mesh implant can be difficult or impossible.

Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits

Thousands of women have filed vaginal mesh failure lawsuits so far. In some cases, vaginal mesh failure lawsuits have led to an eight-figure vaginal mesh lawsuit award.

If you or someone you love has experienced vaginal mesh side effects such as organ perforation or bleeding, you may be able to seek a vaginal mesh lawsuit award.