New Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit Trials Set to Begin After Successful First Settlement

The first trial against vaginal mesh manufacturer Ethicon Inc. ended in an award to the plaintiff for $11.1 million. Linda Gross, who is a nurse, had Ethicon’s Gynecare Prolift vaginal sling implanted as a result of being diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse seven years ago. While her surgery was successful, within five months of receiving the implant she began to experience severe pain, along with bladder difficulty.

After 22 surgeries, she still has pieces of the device inside her that are unable to be removed due to the vaginal mesh becoming interwoven with her tissue. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach the company for help, she filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer. Ethicon followed up with an unsuccessful appeal as the courts’ decision ruled in favor of Ms. Gross with a substantial vaginal mesh settlement victory.

Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits Common

While this is the first trial to take place against Ethicon, it is not the first lawsuit to be filed against many different manufacturers of similar vaginal mesh implants.

Commonly reported vaginal mesh side effects by these lawsuit plaintiffs include infections, mesh erosion, pelvic pain and painful intercourse. Many women also suffered low self- esteem and depression due to the inability to sustain an intimate relationship with their partner.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly received over a thousand complaints due to vaginal mesh implants since 2005, wherein many patients had either surgically removed the device or suffered serious complications as a direct result of the implant.

The device, which is designed for use in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) requires surgery in order to be implanted.  In 2008, the FDA issued a warning about transvaginal mesh implants to the public expressing concerns regarding the products and alleged that the manufacturers of the implants failed to properly design the mesh and neglected to inform its users and physicians of the possible risks involved with its use.

Other Manufacturers Face Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits

Even though the trial for Linda Gross is over for now, many more trials are set to begin. The next trial is scheduled for June 11, 2013 against another manufacturer, CR Bard, and its mesh device, Avaulta.

In the bellwether case selected for trial, four plaintiffs allege that they were seriously harmed by the Avaulta vaginal sling and that complications from the implant led to permanent pain and suffering.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the bellwether lawsuits are hoping to gain insight from these trials on how future trials will go. A joint status conference was recently scheduled regarding lawsuits that have been filed against a variety of manufacturers and their mesh devices.

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