A unit of Endo Health Solutions, one of the four companies facing 29,000 lawsuits over vaginal mesh implants, has agreed to pay $54.5 million to settle some of those cases.
According to Bloomberg, the vaginal mesh cases have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin in Charleston, West Virginia.
The mesh implants are supposed to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse – a condition in which weakened muscles are no longer able to provide adequate support for the pelvic organs. But widespread reports from around the globe say they have a tendency to fail and cause health problems including chronic pain, infection and organ perforation.
Juries have recently sided with the plaintiffs in cases that have gone to trial.
Last year, a California jury found mesh manufacturer C.R.Bard Inc. liable for $3.6 million in damages over a woman’s injuries tied to its Avalta Plus vaginal implant.
And in February, a New Jersey jury decided that Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit was responsible for more than $11 million in damages — including more than $3.3 million in punitive damages — for a woman who had the company’s Gynecare Prolift mesh implanted.
With the number of lawsuits rising, Johnson & Johnson officials stopped marketing four of its lines of vaginal implants off the worldwide market last year, Bloomberg reports.
If you have a vaginal mesh implant, you should consult with a doctor if you have any ongoing symptoms or health concerns. If you have significant injuries, you should also consult with a mesh lawyer to discuss your legal rights.
