Vaginal Sling Injury Lawsuit Added to Vaginal Mesh MDL

By Sarah Mirando | August 27, 2012

Category: Pharmaceuticals

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By Matt O’Donnell

An Arizona woman who suffered severe side effects from a vaginal mesh sling manufactured by Mentor Worldwide, LLC has filed a lawsuit seeking damages for her permanent injuries. The vaginal mesh lawsuit charges Mentor with failing to comply with federal law by continuing to sell a medical device it knew was “unreasonably dangerous and defective,” and for falsely marketing it as safe and effective, even though it was known to cause serious internal injuries.

Plaintiff Mary Higbee alleges in the vaginal sling lawsuit, filed August 7, 2012, that she was surgically implanted with the ObTape vaginal mesh sling on October 4, 2004 to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Following surgery, however, Higbee experienced severe vaginal sling implant complications and injuries, including pain, bleeding, mesh erosion, multiple infections and both internal and external scarring. Her vaginal mesh injury lawsuit alleges she has suffered and will continue to suffer physical and mental pain, multiple surgeries and permanent injuries.

Higbee’s ObTape vaginal mesh lawsuit charges Mentor with being aware of “the unreasonably dangerous and defective characteristics of the ObTape sling,” but of violating federal law by continuing to sell it and falsely market it as safe and effective, even though the company knew it could cause “serious internal injuries.” Her vaginal mesh injury lawyer says Mentor did not warn patients or the medical community of the product’s risks. As a result of this “negligence and wrongful conduct,” Higbee and other consumers relied on Mentor’s assurance that the ObTape vaginal sling device was safe, directly contributing to their “severe and permanent injuries.”

Higbee’s ObTape vaginal sling lawsuit is seeking actual and punitive damages for these vaginal mesh injuries as well as to cover the large medical expenses she incurred. Her lawsuit is alleging negligence, failure to warn, defective design, manufacturing defect, breach of express and implied warranties, fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation.

Her lawsuit joins dozens of other vaginal mesh injury lawsuits pending in the Vaginal Mesh MDL (multidistrict litigation) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. At least four other vaginal mesh MDLs have been created to handle all the growing number of lawsuits being filed by women over the defective devices, with a fifth MDL in consideration. [See “Judges Consider Sixth Vaginal Mesh MDL to Handle Growing Number of Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits.”]

An MDL is similar to a class action lawsuit in that it allows hundreds of people to sue a single company together, but an MDL allows each Plaintiff to retain his or her own attorney and receive an individual settlement award based on his or her individual circumstances. This may mean that women who suffered more serious vaginal mesh complications such as organ injuries will receive more compensation than those who suffered less serious complications, such as pain during sex. A class action lawsuit settlement, on the other hand, is split equally among all Class Members.

If you suffered vaginal mesh injuries and would like to pursue compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, a vaginal mesh injury specialist can review your case for free to see if you should pursue compensation through a vaginal mesh injury lawsuit and joining an MDL or by filing a vaginal mesh class action lawsuit.

For more information, visit the Transvaginal Mesh Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Submit your information — or your loved one’s — to vaginal mesh attorneys who are actively investigating all claims of vaginal mesh and vaginal sling side effects, including urinary problems, vaginal scarring, organ injuries, mesh erosion, pain during sex and other complications. Vaginal mesh injury lawyers are waiting to talk to you now and consultation is free. The lawyers handling this investigation don’t get paid unless you do.

Updated August 27th, 2012

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