Morcellator Lawsuit News: FDA Schedules Advisory Panel Meeting to Review Uterine Cancer Risks Associated with Power Morcellators, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports
New York New York (PRWEB) June 10, 2014 -- As morcellator lawsuits (http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com/) continue to mount in U.S. courts, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has officially scheduled an advisory panel meeting to review the uterine cancer risks associated with the use of power morcellators in minimally-invasive gynecological surgery. According to a notice posted June 9th on the Federal Register, the agency’s Obstetrics and Gynecological Devices Panel will meet on July 10th and 11th at the FDA White Oak Campus in Silver Springs, Maryland. Among other things, the Committee will be tasked with making recommendations regarding the appropriate use, premarket testing, labeling, and other risk mitigation for power morcellators used in laparoscopic hysterectomy and fibroid removal procedures. *
“Our Firm has heard from numerous women who have allegedly experienced the spread of uterine cancers due to power morcellation. We are pleased that the FDA is acting on this issue, and look forward to the Panel’s recommendations,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is now offering free morcellator lawsuit reviews to women who may have experienced the spread of undiagnosed uterine sarcoma and other cancers due to uterine morcellation.
Morcellator Lawsuits
The scheduling of the advisory panel meeting follows the FDA’s issuance in April of an alert that discouraged doctors from using power morcellators in laparoscopic hysterectomy and fibroid removal due to their potential to spread undiagnosed uterine sarcomas and other cancers outside of the uterus. The FDA estimated that 1 in 350 women with fibroids have undiagnosed uterine cancer, and noted that there is no reliable way to screen for such cancers prior to a patient undergoing power morcellation. When uterine cancers are disseminated outside of the uterus during power morcellation, a patient’s chance of long-term survival is greatly reduced, according to the FDA.
Since the FDA alert was issued, Johnson & Johnson announced it would suspend sales of several power morcellators sold by its Ethicon, Inc. unit until the agency can provide further guidance on their use.** A number of hospitals, including The Cleveland Clinic and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the Cleveland Clinic have stopped using the devices pending action from the FDA.***
Court documents indicate that several morcellator lawsuits are now pending in U.S. courts that allege power morcellation caused the spread of uterine cancer. These include a case involving a Wolf Power Morcellator that was filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California on May 13. (Case No. Case5:14-cv-02209-PSG) On May 1, 2014 a similar complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of New York on behalf of a woman who blames uterine morcellation for the spread of leiomyosarcoma in her abdominal cavity. (Case 6:14-cv-06218). In February, the husband of a 53-year-old woman who died from uterine cancer less than a year after she underwent power morcellation filed a morcellator lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. (Case No. 14 5557)
Alleged victims of uterine sarcoma or other cancers spread via power morcellation may be entitled to compensation for their injury-related damages. To learn more about filing a morcellator lawsuit, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website. To obtain a free legal review, please call 800-511-5092.
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3 billion on behalf of our clients. The Firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since it was first published in 2003
Bernstein Liebhard LLP represents the victims of defective drugs and medical devices on a contingency-fee basis, and our clients are never expected to pay attorneys fees unless their case results in a successful recovery on their behalf. New York State’s contingency fee cap rules generally limit those fees to 33 1/3% of the total recovery. As a result, the Firm’s fees can be significantly lower than those assessed by attorneys in other states, which depending on the law may amount to as much as 40% or more of a plaintiff’s recovery.
*federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/09/2014-13290/obstetrics-and-gynecology-devices-panel-of-the-medical-devices-advisory-committee-notice-of-meeting, Federal Register, June 9, 2014
**reuters.com/article/2014/04/30/us-johnson-johnson-device-idUSKBN0DG06G20140430, Reuters, April 30, 2014
***cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2014/04/surgical_tool_for_hysterectomy.html, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 28, 2014
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Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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Felecia L. Stern, Power Morcellator Lawsuit Information, http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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