Johnson & Johnson recently announced they had reached a settlement for thousands of lawsuits filed against the company for its metal hip implant. The J&J DePuy ASR hip system caused serious complications in patients, including permanent device failure, according to the lawsuits.
However, two medical professionals recently issued a release saying the 100,000 or so lawsuits filed for defective transvaginal mesh cases are more complicated than the hip implant cases.
“In the transvaginal mesh debacle the injuries sustained, the functional outcomes, the medical treatment required, and the future reasonable and appropriate medical care that is necessary, is much more ill defined and variable compared to the defective hip situation,” Greg Vigna, MD, JD, and Eva Hvingleby, RN, Ph.D, said in their statement.
They argue the injuries women sustained due to transvaginal mesh side effects are more diverse than those involved with the patients in the defective hip implant cases. Transvaginal mesh implants have caused mesh erosions, infections, incontinence, continued pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic pain. Remedying these complications is also more difficult and less defined, the medical experts say. Some complications do not have any available treatments.
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Many of the hip implant patients experienced similar side effects, the doctors say, while women experiencing mesh injuries varies significantly.
“In the case of the defective hip replacement it is fairly easy to shape a reasonable settlement because of the relative uniformity among the plaintiffs,” Vigna and Hvingleby said. “That is not the case in the transvaginal mesh client where each patient’s symptoms, functional loss, and required treatment plan is absolutely unique.”
Transvaginal mesh lawsuits
A trial is set to start Dec. 3 in U.S. District Court in West Virginia against transvaginal mesh maker C.R. Bard. The bellwether case is the last of four in the first round of trials for lawsuits regarding mesh implant complications. Of the three previous federal bellwether Bard mesh lawsuits, two ended with plaintiffs receiving some form of compensation.
In August, Dan and Donna Cisson received about $2 million in damages. Another case involving plaintiff Wanda Queen was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Other mesh manufacturers facing lawsuits include Coloplast, Cook Medical and Boston Scientific. These companies are considering offering a settlement for thousands of lawsuits filed by women who experienced serious complications from mesh devices.
Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.