Morcellator Lawsuit News: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Notes Efforts to Develop Safer Method for Laparoscopic Hysterectomy, In Light of Power Morcellator Cancer Risks

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This research is vitally important in light of growing concerns that the power morcellators currently on the market can promote the spread of undetected uterine sarcoma and other cancers into a patient’s peritoneal cavity.

New York, New York (PRWEB) July 01, 2014

As morcellator lawsuits (http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com/) continue to move forward in U.S. courts, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes recent efforts to develop a safer surgical tool for use in laparoscopic hysterectomy and fibroid removal procedures. According to a report published by The Pittsburgh Business Times, a researcher with the Magee-Womens Research Institute in Pennsylvania has received a University of Pittsburgh Center for Medical Innovation award to design, build and test an improved morcellation device for use in minimally invasive gynecological surgeries. The aim of the research is to eliminate the potential for uterine morcellation to seed undetected cancer cells throughout the abdomen.*

“This research is vitally important in light of growing concerns that the power morcellators currently on the market can promote the spread of undetected uterine sarcoma and other cancers into a patient’s peritoneal cavity,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is now evaluating morcellator lawsuits on behalf of women who may have experienced the spread of undiagnosed uterine sarcoma and other cancers due to uterine morcellation.

Power Morcellator Lawsuits
Power morcellators are used in laparoscopic hysterectomies and fibroid removals to shred tissue so that it can be removed from the body via a small abdominal incision. In April 2014, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert discouraging doctors from using the devices in minimally invasive gynecological surgeries due to the potential that they can spread undetected uterine cancer cells into the pelvis and abdominal cavity. This can result in an upstaging of the cancer, and greatly reduces a woman’s chances for long-term survival. According to the FDA, about 1 in 350 women undergoing fibroid removal has undetected cancer cells in their fibroids.

The FDA’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel will meet on July 10th and 11th to make recommendations on ways to mitigate the risks associated with uterine morcellation. Until the agency provides further guidance on this issue, a number of hospitals, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts, have suspended the use of power morcellators.** Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Inc. unit has also stopped sales of its power morcellators pending guidance from the FDA.***

According to court documents, a number of power morcellator lawsuits are now pending in U.S. courts, all of which were brought on behalf of women whose cancer was allegedly spread via uterine morcellation. Most recently, a case was filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California on May 13, 2014 that claims the use of a Wolf Power Morcellator promoted the seeding of uterine cancer cells throughout a woman's peritoneal cavity. (Case No. Case5:14-cv-02209-PSG)

Women who allegedly experienced the upstaging of uterine sarcoma or other cancer due to power morcellation may be entitled to compensation for their injury related damages, including medical bills, lost wages, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. 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.

*bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2014/06/30/magee-researcher-developing-safer-hysterectomy.html, Pittsburgh Business Times, June 30, 2014
**cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2014/04/surgical_tool_for_hysterectomy.html, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 28, 2014
***reuters.com/article/2014/04/30/us-johnson-johnson-device-idUSKBN0DG06G20140430, Reuters, April 30, 2014

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 States contingency fee cap rules generally limit those fees to 33 1/3% of the total recovery. As a result, the Firms 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 plaintiffs’ recovery.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
800-511-5092

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2014 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info(at)consumerinjurylawyers(dot)com
http://www.morcellatorlawsuit2015.com
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