Transvaginal Mesh Lawyers at Bernstein Liebhard LLP Comment on Filing of New RICO Case Involving Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Devices
New York, New York (PRWEB) February 17, 2015 -- Transvaginal mesh lawsuits (http://www.filevaginalmeshlawsuit.com/) involving devices manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon, Inc. unit continue to mount in courts around the U.S., Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. Most recently, a Florida woman filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, accusing Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon, Inc. unit of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by covering up the real risks associated with the Gynecare TVT System and Prolift mesh devices. The February 4th filing further alleges that the devices are defectively designed, and are made from material that has caused thousands of women to experience organ perforation, painful sexual intercourse, urinary problems, and other serious vaginal mesh complications. The Plaintiff asserts that Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon have been aware of these issues since 1999. (Case No. No. 15-20442)
“It has been more than four years since the FDA first warned of the dangers associated with transvaginal mesh, yet as evidenced by this filing, the litigation surrounding these devices continues to mount against Ethicon and other companies. As our Firm is very involved in the pelvic mesh litigation that revolves around similar claims in both in state and federal courts, we will be monitoring the progress of this RICO case with great interest,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices including transvaginal mesh. The Firm is offering free and confidential case evaluations to women who were allegedly harmed by products used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
Transvaginal Mesh Litigation
Court records indicate that litigation involving transvaginal mesh has been growing since 2008, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first warned about the risk for serious transvaginal mesh complications.* In July 2011, the agency issued a second alert stating there had been a five-fold increase in mesh complication reports since that earlier communication was released. The FDA also noted that the occurrence of such complications among women who received the devices for prolapse repair was “not rare,” which was a change from the position it had taken previously.
In addition to the RICO case now pending in Florida, Ethicon is currently facing more than 20,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits that have been filed in a federal multidistrict litigation now underway in U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, where Bernstein Liebhard LLP partner, Jeffrey S. Grand, is serving on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. Like the case now pending in Florida, these claims similarly allege that the Ethicon concealed the dangers associated with its pelvic mesh devices, and accuse the company of failing to warn doctors and patients about their significant risks.
According to court documents, Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson are also facing more than 7,600 transvaginal mesh lawsuits currently pending in a multicounty litigation underway in New Jersey’s Bergen County Superior Court. Mr. Grand is serving as Co-liaison Counsel in that proceeding, and also served as a member of the plaintiff’s team during its first trial. That trial ended in March 2013, with the jury awarding more than $11 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a woman injured by the Gynecare Prolift device. (In re: Pelvic Mesh/Gynecare Litigation, No. 6341-10)
Court records indicate that more than 67,000 transvaginal mesh lawsuits are currently pending in several litigations underway in the Southern District of West Virginia. Mr. Grand is also a member of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committees for the remaining vaginal mesh litigations: In re: Boston Scientific Corp., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2326; In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2325; In Re: C.R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2187; Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2387; In Re: Cook Medical, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2440; and In Re: Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2511.
Mr. Grand has also been appointed Co-Liaison Counsel in a second proceeding underway in New Jersey Superior Court for lawsuits filed against C.R. Bard. (In re: Pelvic Mesh Litigation/Bard, No. L-6339-10)
Alleged victims of serious vaginal mesh complications may be entitled to compensation for their injury-related damages. Learn more about filing a transvaginal mesh lawsuit at Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website or the Firm's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/meshlawsuit. To obtain a free, confidential and no-obligation case review, please call 800-511-5092.
*fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/PublicHealthNotifications/ucm061976.htm, FDA, October 2008
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
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
800-511-5092
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2015 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.filevaginalmeshlawsuit.com/
https://plus.google.com/115936073311125306742?rel=author
Felecia L. Stern, Transvaginal Mesh Recall Information Center, http://www.filevaginalmeshlawsuit.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
Share this article