A Minnesota morcellator cancer lawsuit may be an option if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer after a power morcellator procedure. A medical device used during minimally invasive hysterectomies and myomectomies known as a laparoscopic power morcellator may spread undiagnosed cancerous tissue throughout the body. Affected women and their families may be eligible to file a Minnesota morcellator cancer lawsuit and pursue compensation for injuries related to these surgical devices.
For more information, contact Attorney Group for Minnesota today. Our consultations are free, confidential and without any obligation on your part. We can help answer your questions, and if you choose to pursue a claim we can connect you with an affiliated Minnesota morcellator cancer lawsuit attorney who can assist you throughout the legal process.
What is a Power Morcellator and How Does It Work?
Laparoscopic power morcellators are medical devices used in minimally invasive surgical procedures such as hysterectomies and myomectomies to remove the uterus or uterine fibroids. The device is similar to a long drill with sharp blades at the end. Surgeons use power morcellators to cut up the uterus into smaller pieces and remove the remaining tissue through small incisions in the abdomen.
Surgical Techniques Work to Destroy Uterine Fibroids
According to the Mayo Clinic, uterine fibroids come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, have different patterns of development depending on the person and may be asymptomatic for the entirety of a woman’s life. While they can grow rapidly and later be potentially carcinogenic, the overwhelming majority of uterine fibroids do not contain cancerous cells.
If a woman is experiencing side effects as a result of her fibroids, she may deal with a variety of primarily reproductive issues, according to the Office on Women’s Health. These issues include difficulties during childbirth, pain in her back, painful sensations with intercourse, complications with menstrual cycles, abdominal swelling and the need to urinate more often than normal.
These concerns can be addressed with the help of a number of different surgical procedures, including hysterectomy, embolization, endometrial ablation, myolysis and myomectomy. Hysterectomies are surgical procedures that result in the entire uterus being removed, which indicates that women who have this done will no longer be able to have children. Those who do not wish to have their uterus, along with any fibroids it might contain, removed completely, may choose to have a myomectomy, which takes the fibroids directly out of the uterus.
FDA Warnings Regarding Hysterectomies and Myomectomies
In early 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a warning stating that women with cancer cells in their reproductive region who had undergone fibroid removal surgery with a morcellator might have a much higher risk of mortality over the long-term. Power morcellation techniques, which are used during hysterectomies and myomectomies to mince up the muscular mass of fibroids and remove them as easily as possible, have the potential to scatter cancerous cells from the uterine area throughout the body.
Women who suffer this unwanted consequence of fibroid removal surgery, along with their care providers and surgeons, were likely unaware of cancerous sarcoma cells in the uterine area before they were dispersed by the morcellator because there is no certain way to detect this problem prior to the laparoscopic surgery. The FDA reported that the unfortunate after-effect of a procedure using a morcellator may be uterine cancer spreading to other locations in the pelvic and abdominal regions.
Morcellator Cancer Lawsuits Filed
After the FDA warning about the dangers of morcellators during surgery, Ethicon put out a recall of their morcellator devices and has ceased their distribution, according to CBS News. Johnson & Johnson is the parent company of Ethicon, the manufacturer who produced more morcellators than any other manufacturer. Morcellators are still available for sale on the market, although continuing research is underway to determine whether the major manufacturers of these devices, such as Johnson & Johnson, had any knowledge of the potential of their morcellators to spread uterine sarcomas throughout the reproductive area.
How a Minnesota Morcellator Cancer Lawsuit Can Help
Medical device makers have a duty to provide safe products. If there are risks of harm associated with their devices, they also must provide adequate warnings. If a device maker fails to fulfill this duty, it could be held liable in lawsuits for injuries that may result.
People injured by defective medical devices may be eligible to recover money for:
- Medical Expenses
- Lost Wages
- Pain and Suffering
The families of those who have died may be eligible to recover money for funeral expenses and the pain that comes with losing a loved one.
The Time You Have to File a Claim is Limited. Contact Us Today.
For more information, contact Attorney Group for Minnesota. You can fill out the form on this page or contact us by phone or email.
After you contact us, an attorney will follow up to answer questions that you might have. There is no cost or obligation to speak with us, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.
Please note that the law limits the time you have to pursue a claim or file a lawsuit for an injury. If you think you have a case, you should not delay taking action.
