Any mother, sister, daughter or female friend, who has experienced medical conditions requiring physician care, and even surgery, knows how upsetting these life events can be. To make matters worse, some of the surgical products used to cure problems, such as transvaginal mesh, can fail and cause tremendous suffering and re-occurrence of the original symptoms causing surgical treatment. As far as the law is concerned, product defect liability extends far beyond traditional consumer products, and includes transvaginal mesh implant and bladder sling defects.
“Jury awards $3.35 million in vaginal mesh case against Johnson & Johnson”
In South Dakota, a woman sued Johnson & Johnson and won $3.35 million for their failure to adequately warn her physician about potential risks and dangers of the vaginal mesh implant made by its subsidiary company, Ethicon, who allegedly misrepresented the product in marketing brochures[i].
Why these surgeries performed and what are can go wrong.
What causes the need for surgical care and transvaginal mesh implants? A condition such as pelvic organ prolapse (“POP”), similar to stress urinary incontinence, is often linked to strain during childbirth can cause a medical issue. “Normally your pelvic organs are kept in place by the muscles and tissues in your lower belly. During childbirth, these muscles can get weak or stretched. If they don’t recover they can’t support your pelvic organs.[ii]” Additional organs that could be involved in POP include: bladder (most common); urethra; uterus; vagina; small bowel; and rectum. Factors that can worsen POP are: obesity; a long-lasting cough’ frequent constipation; and pelvic organ tumors.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNg-1AFVrY4#t=79]Transvaginal mesh treatment involves surgery to permanently install the mesh that works as a sling, to keep the organs in place and reduce or prevent stress on the bladder to treat urinary incontinence. Women, who suffered pain, urinary incontinence and other complications after transvaginal mesh surgery, are a concern of the FDA who released a warning video about rare but serious complications with the surgical mesh used in POP and stress urinary incontinence treatment.
The Law Offices of Michael V. Favia represent plaintiffs in cases with substantially similar claims as the recent reported Bard suit: “Bard Loses $2 Million Verdict in Vaginal-Mesh Trial”
A recent lawsuit, where flaws with some of the implants were known but not disclosed, recently reported in Bloomberg News, ordered a manufacturer of device defects that caused damages in plaintiffs including organ damage and painful sexual intercourse when the devices erode. “This jury sent a message that Bard needs to change its ways,” Henry Garrard, one of Cisson’s lawyers, said after the punitive-damages verdict was announced. “The jury is telling them this kind of conduct won’t be tolerated.[iii]”
Women experiencing pain, discomfort and complication symptoms following transvaginal mesh implant surgery should know that their physician may not be the one at fault and the manufacturers are often to blame. If you or a friend is in pain and needs surgery to remove a mesh implant, you can call the Law Offices of Michael V. Favia for help. For more information about the firm’s practice areas, you can visit the website, Facebook and Twitter sites.
