Product News and Recalls

Opening arguments in transvaginal mesh case

Opening arguments took place in the court case involving a woman who needed 18 operations to repair damage from a transvaginal mesh implant.

Her lawyer alleged that manufacturer Johnson & Johnson sold the device, which is supposed to shore up weakened pelvic muscles, after testing it inadequately and failing to warn of all the risks.

A Bloomberg story quotes him as saying: “They knew every single catastrophe before it happened.”

The case, which has gone before a jury in New Jersey, is the first of 1,800 such lawsuits to go to trial.

The plaintiff is 47-year-old Linda Gross of South Dakota, who had a Gynecare Prolift implanted in 2006. The report says she can no longer work because of the chronic pain and other problems she’s suffered as a result.

Frequently reported problems from the device include organ perforation and infections.

Johnson & Johnson eventually stopped selling four mesh devices, including the Prolift, in the United States in August.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered Johnson & Johnson and 31 other mesh implant manufacturers to study rates of organ damage and complications linked to the devices. Doctors implanted more than 70,000 of them in U.S. women in 2010, 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.

See the story here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-10/j-j-failed-to-warn-of-vaginal-mesh-risks-lawyer-says.html