Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit

Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Updates

While most mesh cases were settled in 2022, new cases are being filed with regularity. We’ll update you on those new cases here.

June 21, 2024

The Eleventh Circuit upheld a $2.5 million verdict against Coloplast Corp. Coloplast had alleged that the woman filed her claim too late, invalidating her case.

April 10, 2023

The Johnson & Johnson and Bard multicounty litigation (MCL) in New Jersey was reassigned to Bergen Superior Court Judge Gregg A. Padovano. 

March 23, 2023

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $500,000 award against Coloplast Corp. The plaintiff had two different meshes (one by Coloplast and one by Boston Scientific) implanted to repair her pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Coloplast appealed the decision, claiming there was not sufficient evidence to prove causation. The Court disagreed. 

February 21, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a $302 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson. This was the result of a lawsuit filed by the State of California, alleging that the manufacturer concealed the risks of its pelvic mesh from consumers, according to Reuters. 

February 13, 2023

The State of Kentucky and Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, agreed to a $9.9 million settlement for violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act by misrepresenting their products and failing to disclose life-altering risks of their pelvic mesh. 

June 2022

The court has resolved approximately 95% of existing vaginal mesh lawsuits, according to a court filing. The same court filing stated that the defendants had put approximately $525 million into the common benefit fund. As of that filing, approximately $33 million remained in the fund.

March 23, 2021

Boston Scientific agreed to a $189 million settlement with 47 states and Washington, D.C. in regards to its deceptive marketing of its surgical mesh products, according to a Reuters article. 

March 19, 2021

The Ethicon MDL was closed.

February 11, 2021

The Boston Scientific MDL was closed.

December 21, 2020

The American Medical Systems and C.R. Bard MDLs were closed  

December 18, 2020

The Coloplast and Neomedic MDLs ended.

January 30, 2020

The State of California obtained a judgment against J&J for approximately $344 million for false and deceptive marketing of its pelvic mesh.

August 6, 2019

The Cook MDL ended.

June 18, 2018

Boston Scientific won its third mesh trial in Massachusetts, according to MassDevice. The Massachusetts jury found that the company’s Pinnacle and Obtryx meshes were not defective.

April 28, 2015

With its first settlement, Boston Scientific has agreed to pay approximately $119 million to resolve 2,970 cases. 

November 20, 2014

A federal jury in West Virginia ordered Boston Scientific to pay $18.5 million for claims involving its mesh devices. 

November 13, 2014

A federal jury in Miami ordered Boston Scientific to pay $26.7 million after it found the manufacturer liable for selling defective transvaginal mesh, according to The Miami Herald. The award will be divided between four women who alleged that they suffered bleeding, infections, and pain due to their mesh implants.

2010-2014

Due to the large number of lawsuits within the existing MDL, the MDL was separated into several different MDLs:

• MDL No. 2511 | In Re Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (February 18, 2014)
• MDL No. 2440 | In Re Cook Medical, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (June 11, 2013)
• MDL No. 2387 | In Re Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation (August 6, 2012)
• MDL No. 2327 | In Re Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (February 7, 2012)
• MDL No. 2325 | In Re American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (February 7, 2012)
• MDL No. 2326 | In Re Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (February 7, 2012)
• MDL No. 2187 | In Re C. R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation (October 12, 2010)

Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit FAQs

Clients often have a lot of questions about transvaginal mesh lawsuits. Here are some answers.

What Pelvic Mesh Lawsuits Are Currently Ongoing?

As of August 2024, there is no ongoing multidistrict litigation for transvaginal mesh lawsuits. There is ongoing multicounty litigation (MCL) in New Jersey against Bard and J&J.

There were seven ongoing MDLs but all had been closed by the end of 2021. Approximately 95% of the pelvic mesh lawsuits that have been filed were resolved as of July 2022.

However, if you or a loved one suffered injury due to defective transvaginal mesh, our co-counsel can help you file an individual lawsuit against any of the following defendants:

• American Medical Systems, Inc.
• Boston Scientific Corp.
• Coloplast Corp.
• Cook Medical, Inc.
• C.R. Bard, Inc.
• Ethicon, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson
• Neomedic

Have There Been Any Transvaginal Mesh Settlements?

There have been billions of dollars in vaginal mesh settlements. What you can recover depends on the specifics of your case.

What Compensation Can I Recover for My Transvaginal Mesh-Related Injuries?

There’s no way to erase what happened to you as a patient, but you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries. These could include:

• Lost wages
• Loss of spousal consortium
• Medical expenses
• Loss of quality of life
• Pain and suffering

When you need to focus on getting better and recovering from this unfortunate experience, you don’t need the additional financial burden of trying to figure out what you’ll do in the wake of all this pain and inability to work or enjoy activities.

Do I Qualify for a Pelvic Mesh Lawsuit?

You may qualify for a transvaginal mesh lawsuit if:

• You have a surgically implanted vaginal mesh, bladder mesh, urethral sling, or mesh tape, and
• You had to have a revision or removal surgery, and
• You were implanted with the mesh or sling between 2010 and 2020.

Transvaginal Mesh FAQs

Our team often receives a lot of questions about transvaginal mesh. Here are answers to a few of the questions we’ve received.

What Do I Need to Know About Pelvic Mesh and Bladder Slings?

These devices are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women, but when the material breaks down and causes tissue damage, it is the patients who pay the price. Many women who have had a defective implant report issues with constant pain, inability to have sexual intercourse, and continued urinary incontinence. Frustrated and unsure of what to do, more of these women are looking for attorneys to help them file a transvaginal mesh lawsuit.

Continued reports from patients who have suffered serious pain and other issues after a mesh implant have led to FDA scrutiny of these devices. Are you one of these patients? You want legal counsel to help you determine whether filing a claim is your next step.

What Are the Complications Associated With Transvaginal Mesh Implants?

Once these transvaginal mesh devices are implanted, the mesh material could start eroding through vaginal walls or other organs within a few weeks or months of the surgery. These injuries can make everyday activities like walking, sitting, or engaging in sexual intercourse extremely painful or impossible. This can damage relationships and make going to work difficult. Some experts argue that these implants were marketed to doctors before they had undergone extensive testing that might have been able to discern the causes of some of these issues, fixing them before people suffered.

Many of the women who have sustained injuries from defective transvaginal mesh implants have been required to undergo additional surgeries in an attempt to repair the issues. Discovering the extent of their pain has led some of these people to file lawsuits.

Has the United States Banned Transvaginal Mesh?

In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered all transvaginal mesh manufacturers to stop selling and distributing their products intended for pelvic organ prolapse repair. Per the FDA, manufacturers Boston Scientific and Coloplast did not demonstrate “a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for these devices.”

This was the new “premarket review standard” that manufacturers needed to demonstrate after the FDA reclassified these products as class III (high-risk) in 2016. To stay on the market, manufacturers needed to provide evidence that surgery, including mesh devices, worked better than surgery without them.

However, since surgical mesh has been used for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse since the 1990s, far too many women have been impacted by defective transvaginal mesh.

History of Transvaginal Mesh Use and Regulation in the United States

According to the FDA, the first transvaginal surgical mesh device was “cleared as a class II moderate-risk device” in 2002.

Over time, the FDA received an increasing number of complaints about complications following surgical mesh surgery. In response, the FDA performed a number of actions.

July 2011

The FDA published a Safety Communication outlining concerns and offering new recommendations about transvaginal mesh.

September 2011

The FDA hosted a meeting of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel to explore the benefits and risks of transvaginal surgical mesh. After this meeting, the FDA issued 131 orders, called “522 orders”, for postmarket surveillance studies. These orders, which went out to 34 different manufacturers, caused most of these companies to simply stop marketing transvaginal mesh.

January 2016

The FDA reclassified transvaginal mesh from class II (moderate risk) to class III (high risk). This is the highest risk class, which requires manufacturers to get premarket approval to stay on the market.

July 2018

The FDA had set a July 5, 2018, deadline for premarket approval applications. If manufacturers did not meet this deadline, they were forced to remove their products from the market.

February 2019

The FDA held an advisory committee meeting to discuss new evidence and determine how to evaluate the risks.

April 16, 2019

The FDA ordered all manufacturers to take their transvaginal mesh intended for pelvic organ prolapse repair off the market immediately.

Finding the Right Attorney for Your Transvaginal Mesh Claim

With such sensitive or potentially embarrassing medical issues on the line, it can be difficult to find the right legal team. The Goldwater Law Firm is committed to handling your claim with compassion and discretion.

Even if you are not currently experiencing symptoms, it may be worth speaking to an attorney if you have had a transvaginal mesh implant, a bladder sling, or ob vaginal tape issues. You may discover medical issues before you begin to experience constant pain. There is no reason to hesitate to get legal help. If you have been hurt because of these dangerous and eroding implants, please give us a call to get started.

Our team will connect you with a transvaginal mesh lawyer in your area who can support you throughout this process. Your lawyer can:

• Determine whether you qualify for a transvaginal mesh lawsuit
• Gather evidence to demonstrate how your mesh implant caused your injuries
• Establish your damages
• Handle all communication with involved parties
• Negotiate for a fair settlement
• Prepare your case for court
• Represent you in court if necessary