pelvic mesh

Seven years after filing suit, a North Carolina woman and her husband were awarded $68 million dollars for serious injuries caused by C.R. Bard’s defective pelvic mesh products.

In 2009 Mary McGinnis was implanted with the Avaulta Solo Support System and Align Trans-Obturator Yrethral Support System, two pelvic mesh products manufactured and sold by C.R. Bard, Inc. and other defendants. Ms. McGinnis was implanted with these mesh products in an attempt to treat Ms. McGinnis’ stress urinary incontinence and to provide bladder support. Shortly after implantation of the mesh, Ms. McGinnis began having severe pains from nerve damage and pain during sex. She had to undergo several surgeries to attempt to correct the problems.

Ms. McGinnis and her husband filed suit in 2011, alleging that C.R. Bard knew the pelvic mesh was unsafe at the time the products were implanted in Ms. McGinnis, and that Bard failed to warn doctors about the dangers of the Avaulta and Align pelvic mesh. At trial lawyers for Bard argued that the Defendants met all industry standards and requirements for placing the Avaulta and Align mesh products on the markets.

So maybe you’ve heard the news that Washington and California recently sued Johnson & Johnson for misrepresenting the safety of its transvaginal mesh (or “pelvic mesh”) products. I pulled the Washington lawsuit and read it. It is alarming. If Washington can prove the allegations in the complaint, it will be a damning indictment of Johnson & Johnson and the pelvic mesh industry generally.

The Washington Lawsuit

States can sue companies on behalf of their injured citizens. If the state’s attorney general decides that a “bad act” is harmful to enough citizens, her office can file a lawsuit on behalf of the state and the group of people who were injured. It is an important consumer protection function provided by the states. This is what happened in Washington and California a few days ago. The Washington Attorney General reported that 11,728 transvaginal mesh products were sold (and implanted) in women in the state. The attorneys general in those states filed suit against Johnson & Johnson and made a series of chilling allegations against the company for its marketing of transvaginal mesh.

Let’s look at some of the key allegations in the Washington State lawsuit. When I refer to “Defendants,” I mean Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, Inc., and their related companies, who made and marketed several types of transvaginal mesh.

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Clay, thank you sir for making a disheartening experience at least palatable, you and your staff were honest, caring and understanding through the entire process of my wife’s hip replacements, while monetary settlements never make the pain and suffering end, it sometimes is the only way people can fight back to right a wrong. J. V.

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Articles Tagged with pelvic mesh

C. R. Bard Pelvic Mesh: North Carolina Couple Wins $68 Million at Trial

Transvaginal Mesh: Chilling Allegations in State Lawsuits Against Johnson & Johnson