C.R. Bard, a manufacturer and distributor of transvaginal mesh (TVM), has agreed to settle 500 of the 12,500 transvaginal mesh lawsuits filed against it. The settlements include undisclosed amounts and the company says it continues discussion with the other women who have filed a transvaginal mesh lawsuit in Georgia and other states.
Bard Not Alone
Bard is not the only company facing transvaginal mesh lawsuits. In September 2011, the United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., denied a Boston Scientific motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed she suffered injury after a 2008 surgery to implant transvaginal mesh as treatment for her stress urinary incontinence. In addition to Boston Scientific and Bard, other manufacturers of the device are facing transvaginal mesh lawsuits, including:
- Ethicon
- American Medical Systems (AMS)
- Coloplast
- Cook Medical
- Neomedic
Georgia Case
According to court documents, a Georgia woman underwent surgery on September 17, 2008 at Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, Georgia. She was implanted with a Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kit, manufactured by Boston Scientific and a TVT sling, manufactured by Ethicon. After the surgery, the patient says that her incontinence became worse; she suffered abdominal pain and recurring interstitial cystitis. She underwent a second surgery in December 2008 after the mesh protruded through her vagina and a third surgery in April 2009 when the mesh eroded. At no time was she informed that her pain was caused by the transvaginal mesh, despite the fact that her condition continued to worsen even after additional surgeries. She filed the lawsuit in Georgia when she learned that the transvaginal mesh was the cause of her constant pain and cystitis.
Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits
Transvaginal mesh is a product used to treat pelvic floor prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women whose pelvic muscles have weakened over time. Pelvic floor prolapse can lead to other organs, such as the bladder and uterus, to drop into a woman’s vagina, occasionally protruding from the vaginal opening. Stress urinary incontinence occurs when weak pelvic muscles cause involuntary urination when performing strenuous activity such as exercise or coughing. The product was originally designed in the 1950s to treat abdominal hernias. It is made of biological or synthetic materials, which could be polypropylene, polyester fibers or stainless steel. In the 1970s, doctors began using the mesh to treat women with pelvic organ prolapse.
If you or someone you love has been injured through the use of pelvic mesh, or if someone you love has died from complications related to transvaginal mesh, contact Attorney Group for Georgia today to see if you qualify for a transvaginal mesh lawsuit. We can help answer your questions, and connect you with an affiliated Georgia attorney. Contact us today to learn more.
