New Jersey Medical Device Manufacturer Agrees to Pay $200 Million to Settle Transvaginal Mesh Claims
C.R. Bard Inc, based in Murray Hill, NJ, has agreed to settle upwards of 3,000 cases brought against the corporation by plaintiffs who suffered injuries through use of its transvaginal mesh inserts, reportedly offering over $200 million to the victims. This proposed settlement works out to around $67,000 per claim. The proposed settlement is an addition to a settlement between Bard and 500 plaintiffs last year in which the corporation agreed to pay $21 million to the plaintiffs, working out to around $43,000 per plaintiff. Both settlements were negotiated in the context of multi-district litigation taking place in a West Virginia federal court, where Bard and other medical device manufacturers are in litigation with thousands of plaintiffs. Notably, a single plaintiff in West Virginia took her claim against Bard all the way through trial last year, where a jury awarded her a $2 million verdict.
In total, Bard has faced approximately 12,400 lawsuits over the transvaginal mesh implants. Transvaginal mesh is a type of surgical mesh used in surgery to correct medical issues related to pelvic organ prolapse, a medical condition where one or more of a woman’s pelvic organs (including the bladder, rectum, uterus, or bowel) drop or bulge into the vagina, typically following an event such as hysterectomy or childbirth. Use of transvaginal mesh by doctors and surgeons has been widespread, with around 70,000 women undergoing procedures involving the implant of transvaginal mesh in 2010 alone. The plaintiffs in the transvaginal mesh lawsuits have alleged that the mesh eroded inside their bodies, causing damage to internal organs, pain, and eroding their quality of life, including causing sex to be painful. The devices can be removed through additional surgery, although this can require multiple surgeries.
The FDA released two warnings regarding transvaginal mesh. In 2008, the FDA warned of the harmful side effects of the mesh and recommended that doctors undergo special training before utilizing it and that they also provide detailed warning to patients. In late 2011, the FDA released further warnings about the mesh, concluding that, “serious complications associated with surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of (pelvic organ prolapse) are not rare,” and instructing Bard, Johnson & Johnson, and other transvaginal mesh manufacturers to take steps to address the risk associated with their products.
Despite the FDA warnings, Bard has continued to argue in court filings in the West Virginia litigation that its devices are safe and effective. Nonetheless, the corporation appears to have taken the recommendation of the federal judge overseeing the litigation to settle the cases rather than face billions of dollars in jury verdicts.
Medical device manufacturers have an obligation to deliver a safe product and to compensate users of defective devices for their injuries. If you have been injured by the use of a medical device, contact an attorney as soon as possible to begin investigating the extent of your injuries, and to help you file a products liability lawsuit. For a free consultation on your claim from anywhere in Wayne, New Jersey and surrounding areas, contact the products liability attorneys at Massood Law Group, LLC. Call today for an evaluation of your possible lawsuit at 1-844-4MB-HURT or 973-696-1900.
