Transvaginal Mesh Lawyer Help: Resource4thePeople Reacts to Jury Awarding $1.2 Million Damages in Mesh Erosion Lawsuit
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) April 10, 2014 -- http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivemedicaldevices/transvaginal-mesh-lawsuit.html
Resource4thePeople today announced its reaction to a jury's award of $1.2 million to a woman who claimed a transvaginal mesh implant was defectively designed, eroded inside her and cause her severe pelvic pain.
The damages were awarded last week to Linda Batiste, who sued Johnson & Johnson over complications she suffered from the company's Ethicon TVT-O sling, according to the court file in the case.*
The verdict came after a trial in state court in Dallas in which attorneys for the 64-year-old former nurse argued that Batiste was entitled to damages for the medical expenses and pain and suffering she incurred after the mesh eroded.
"The true test of the merits of a case is when the evidence is presented to a jury and this verdict is the latest in which jurors have found that mesh products have been defectively designed and caused women serious health problems," said Resource4thPeople.
"There are still tens of thousands of these lawsuits and more women are coming forth and making inquiries about their legal rights to seek compensation over these allegations.
"Because of these factors our national network of attorneys will continue to offer free consultations to all consumers who may have been affected by transvaginal mesh failures."
The Dallas verdict is among the latest developments in the progress of tens of thousands of lawsuits** alleging that transvaginal mesh implants have failed and caused women severe health problems.
Several mesh manufacturers have been named as defendants in a multidistrict litigation before a single judge in U.S. District Court in West Virginia, where there are now over 43,000 cases.
These figures*** were recently compiled by the U.S. Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation as of the end of the latest reporting period of March 13, 2014.
The judge is overseeing consolidated federal transvaginal mesh lawsuits involving such major manufacturers of mesh as American Medical Systems, Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., C. R. Bard, Inc., Ethicon, Inc. and others, according to the court files.
Transvaginal mesh is frequently used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, two medical problems common to women as they age and their abdominal muscles weaken.
In another important development, Bloomberg News reported**** on March 14, 2014 that Coloplast A/S, the Danish maker of medical products, has agreed to pay about $16 million to settle lawsuits accusing it of injuring women with its vaginal-mesh inserts.
In its report, Bloomberg said settlement talks are continuing with other manufacturers facing thousands of suits over their vaginal-mesh inserts, including C.R. Bard Inc. and a unit of Endo Health Solutions Inc., while some implant makers, such as Johnson & Johnson the world’s biggest maker of health-care products, have declined to discuss out-of-court settlements.
One key trial in the multidistrict litigation has been delayed. The case**** involves allegations by a woman seeking damages from C.R. Bard over an Avaulta pelvic mesh device which was implanted in her body and caused her serious health problems, according to the court file in the case.
"This case is one of the bellwether trials selected from thousands of lawsuits filed against Bard grouped together in this jurisdiction in which women are claiming that the transvaginal mesh products were defectively designed and they suffered mesh erosion, chronic pain, infections, and other complications," said Resource4thePeople.
The rescheduled trial was preceded by another federal court trial also involving allegations involving C.R. Bard’s Avaulta transvaginal mesh in which a jury awarded $2 million in damages to a woman who claimed that she suffered serious health problems from the product, according to the court file in the case.*****
“That jury found in favor of a woman making serious allegations about the safety of transvaginal mesh, which has been implanted in tens of thousands of American women to treat pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence and other health problems,” said Resource4thePeople.
“Evidence in the case of the woman’s severe pain and the erosion and extrusion of the device mirrors the allegations in thousands of other mesh lawsuits that are pending and we view the verdict for the plaintiff as a positive development for other cases still to be heard.”
The $2 million in damages was awarded to a Georgia nurse who claimed that a Bard Avaulta Plus mesh implant she had in 2009 was defective and caused her to suffer serious health problems, including several corrective surgeries, according to the court file.
Bloomberg News earlier reported in a Sept. 30, 2013 posting****** that settlement discussions are underway involving manufacturers C.R. Bard, Endo Health Solutions, Boston Scientific and two other companies.
"Lawyers for Bard, Endo Health Solutions Inc., Boston Scientific Corp. and two other companies making vaginal inserts to support women’s pelvic muscles and treat incontinence have begun talks about settling all suits over their products, the people familiar with the matter said," according to the report.
Bloomberg, in its report, quoted Judge Joseph Goodwin as telling the attorneys:
“I know you all are considering settlement protocols and the possibility of resolutions,” Goodwin said at a Sept. 18 court hearing.
Sources:
*Batiste v. McNabb, Case # 12-14350, District Court for the 95th Judicial District, Dallas County Texas.
**In re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation (MDL-2325); In re: Boston Scientific Corp., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (MDL-2326); In re: C. R. Bard, Inc. Pelvic System Products Liability Litigation (MDL-2187); In re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (MDL-2327), all in U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia
***http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-March-13-2014.pdf
****http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-04/coloplast-said-to-pay-16-million-to-settle-vaginal-mesh-suits
*****Carolyn Jones v. C.R. Bard Inc. et al, Case # 2:11cv0114, U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia
******Cisson v. C.R. Bard, Inc., 2:11-cv-00195, U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia (Charleston)
*******http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-30/bard-vaginal-mesh-makers-said-to-be-in-settlement-talks.html
Bill Callahan, iLawSuit, +1 858 602-2749, [email protected]
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