Transvaginal mesh attorneys at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm have several updates to report on concerning the massive litigation against manufacturers. Most recently, American Medical Systems agreed to pay $830 million to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by women injured by the transvaginal mesh implants. Just a few days earlier, a woman in Texas was awarded $1.2 million for the injuries she suffered from the TVT-O sling.
The $1.2 verdict was the first award against Johnson & Johnson for this TVT-O sling implant. Vaginal-mesh products like this were implanted in women to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP), however, the implants were rushed through the FDA approval process and turned out to be extremely defective.
Defective may even be putting it mildly. As discussed in prior posts on this blog, TVM products have caused extremely severe, painful, and often permanent injuries in women who were implanted. Further complicating the issue, the manufacturers overwhelmingly failed to inform physicians and patients that these implants were defective, causing hundreds of thousands of women to undergo mesh procedures without being fully aware of the risks.
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Due to this glaring negligence, all nine companies that made these TVM products are now facing massive litigation from injured women. Among the injuries these devices have caused include: implant erosion, forced surgeries, hysterectomies, scarring, organ perforation, uncontrolled bleeding, infections, and other irreversible damages.
Johnson & Johnson alone is currently facing over 12,000 lawsuits for improperly designing TVM implants. In 2013, another jury ruled that the company had to pay a single plaintiff $11 million in damages. The device at issue in that case was the Prolift, which was implanted in women to support sagging organs. This type of condition is common in older women whose pelvic muscles and organs weakened after childbirth and pregnancy.
FDA Warning & $830 Million Payout
The American Medical Systems (AMS) settlement comes on the heels of the Texas case. This company is facing over 22,000 lawsuits over their products. Just a few days before, the FDA announced that it was reclassifying vaginal mesh products as high-risk devices.
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The federal agency issued two proposed orders that would, first, reclassify the mesh products as “high-risk” devices, and second, would require manufacturers to apply for pre-market approval with the agency before sale. The FDA confirmed that there are significant risks associated with TVM implants, and aims to make them more safe and effective and protect vulnerable patients from harm.
In addition to J&J and AMS, seven other companies manufactured TVM implants, including C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific, Coloplast, Cook Medical, and Neomedic. At present, about 45,000 TVM lawsuits are pending in federal court – a number that continues to grow by the day.
AMS had previously set aside $250 million to cover the TVM litigation, so this most recent announcement pushes the total settlement costs to about $1 billion. The company will also be paying for all plaintiffs’ legal fees.
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In order to take part in this massive settlement, injured women just have to verify that they were implanted with an AMS vaginal mesh product using medical records. If you know you were implanted with a TVM product, but are unsure of the manufacturer, we can help. We have our own team of extremely experienced and knowledgeable professionals who will order your medical records for you and determine which precise product you received.
If you or someone you love was implanted with a vaginal or pelvic mesh product and suffered a serious injury, you should contact our firm immediately. Our team of all-femaleTVM lawyers is currently representing hundreds of patients in this nationwide litigation. We provide free, no-obligation legal consultation to injured patients. You have suffered enough, let us fight for you and help make you well again.
Call or text 800-934-6555 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form