Product News and Recalls

One of First Power Morcellator Lawsuits Settled

morcellator case settled for undisclosed amountThe Wall Street Journal reports that one of the first power morcellator lawsuits filed, and what would have been the first to proceed to trial, has been settled out of federal court for an undisclosed amount. The power morcellator lawsuit was filed in May of last year against medical device manufacturer LiNA Medical. The plaintiff, whose wife died of uterine cancer after a power morcellator procedure, claimed that the device spread cancerous tissue during his wife’s operation.

Power morcellators are a type of medical instrument used in minimally invasive procedures. They are frequently employed in hysterectomies, where they are used to cut up the uterus for extraction through the abdomen. Unfortunately, evidence suggests power morcellators may spread undiscovered cancerous tissue in patients. A 2014 study at Columbia University estimated that 1 in 368 women have unsuspected uterine cancer when they undergo a gynecological procedure. Thus, surgeons may unknowingly be spreading cancer in thousands of female patients each year simply by using the device.

The federal government has not been idle on the issue. In April 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert urging surgeons not to use power morcellators during hysterectomies or myomectomies for precisely this reason. And recently, evidence has surfaced that the FBI is conducting an investigation into the manufacturers of these allegedly dangerous devices, including Jonson & Johnson.

According to the plaintiff, his wife showed no sign of “disseminated and/or metastatic cancer/disease” prior to her power morcellator procedure in 2012. Roughly one week after the operation, doctors informed her that she had uterine cancer. The plaintiff believes LiNA Medical’s power morcellator was responsible for the diagnosis. Although the case settled out of court, the result is encouraging for others who have filed power morcellator lawsuits.

If you or someone close was diagnosed with uterine cancer after undergoing a power morcellator procedure, contact the lawyers at Lopez McHugh today for a free legal consultation. You may be entitled to compensation through a power morcellator lawsuit.