A transvaginal mesh lawsuit has ended in a jury award for a woman who says her mesh implant left her with injuries and constant pain.

The verdict in this particular case awarded $500,000 to the plaintiff who had argued that defendant Johnson & Johnson failed to warn her about the risk of injury associated with pelvic mesh. Plaintiff Linda D. says she received a Prolift mesh product in June 2007 for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse. This condition is common among women who begin to experience problems with weakened pelvic muscles. Over time, that condition can cause the organs to press against the vagina.

Linda says that just two years after she got that implant, she began to experience problems. Her doctors then found out that the device had begun to erode into the wall of her vagina, a side effect experienced by many other women who have been implanted with transvaginal mesh.

The plaintiff in that lawsuit argues that her time spent and the pain incurred in coping with the problem have severely impacted her life. She says she still suffers from pain when trying to have sex.

Philadelphia Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Cases

This is the ninth time that a set of jurors in Philadelphia, where many pelvic mesh lawsuits are being handled, have decided in favor of an injured plaintiff. In total, more than $350 million has been awarded to various plaintiffs who have had their cases go through the court system. Manufacturer Boston Scientific settled about 50,000 pelvic mesh claims earlier this summer.

As the U.S. is attempting to handle the many lawsuits filed under the umbrella of transvaginal mesh implant problems, governments all over the world are taking a bigger role in evaluating the issues, too. In fact, governments are pushing for tighter regulations after an international probe revealed worldwide issues with dangerously designed implants.

In many cases, new medical implants do not have to undergo the same scrutiny as a new drug, an issue that some safety advocates and medical experts say puts patients at risk. This means that pieces of new technology can come onto the market with less testing and analysis.

For implants with undiscovered flaws, the issues don’t come to light until various patients begin to suffer complications and report them. This is why some people are pushing for more clinical trials and requirements of the makers of these devices.

Over the past few years, the number of women who have stepped forward with complaints over transvaginal mesh has grown, so much so that the FDA has pulled some of those devices off the market.

Some of the common complaints expressed by patients include painful sex, pain during urination, vaginal bleeding that is ongoing, and vaginal discharge. Some have even found out that the mesh has eroded into other parts of their body after meeting with their doctors to investigate the root cause of their pain.