A hernia mesh lawsuit is a legal claim filed against hernia mesh manufacturers by people who suffered serious injuries after their mesh implants failed. The third bellwether trial, for Stinson v. C.R. Bard, is set for October 2023.
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Hernia mesh lawsuits are currently active. New cases continue to be filed while trials in existing cases are pending. The third bellwether trial against C.R. Bard is now scheduled to begin in October 2023 in the US Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Ethicon and Atrium agreed to confidential settlements in 2021, but active cases remain in the MDLs in 2023, and these may still go to trial.
The latest hernia mesh lawsuit updates include:
Though the first bellwether trial resulted in a defense win for C.R. Bard, and the second trial ended in a modest $255,000 verdict, the jury in a state case in Rhode Island against Becton Dickinson, a C.R. Bard subsidiary, yielded a $4.8 million verdict in August 2022.
Attorneys have said this large jury verdict could play a part in pushing for a global settlement.
People who filed hernia mesh lawsuits claim that mesh made by companies failed and led to severe injuries that required revision surgery to fix.
Patients are suing manufacturers for compensation for damages, including lost wages, medical bills, loss of quality of life and pain and suffering.
People who filed lawsuits suffered hernia mesh complications so severe they needed at least one additional surgery to fix their problems. Some required more. And many people claim their complications continued after revision surgery.
You may be able to file a lawsuit if you’ve experienced one or more of the hernia mesh complications listed below and your doctor recommended revision surgery.
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People may file hernia mesh lawsuits to receive compensation for damages, including medical bills, pain, suffering and loss of quality of life.
The plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits against hernia mesh manufacturers have three main causes of action against mesh manufacturers: Defective design, manufacturing defects and failure to warn.
C.R. Bard defectively designed its Composix Kugel hernia mesh with a memory coil ring that was prone to breaking and causing complications, according to a lawsuit filed by Vicky Sanders.
Bard’s Kugel mesh had manufacturing defects because Bard used “substandard, adulterated, and/or non-medical grade polypropylene and raw materials used to make the Composix Kugel product which deviated from their material and supply specifications,” according to Sanders’ lawsuit.
Sanders also said that Bard failed to warn the public despite knowing that its product could cause health problems.
Compensation claims in hernia mesh lawsuits include economic factors such as past and future medical expenses and wage loss. Noneconomic damages include loss of quality of life, loss of consortium and pain and suffering.
Some hernia mesh problems require more than one surgery to fix. And some injuries such as infections and chronic pain may mean you will need treatment for the rest of your life. These medical bills add up. If you were the main wage earner for your household and chronic groin pain from failed mesh prevents you from working, you may be able to claim lost wages from the past and future.
Noneconomic losses are emotional and mental. For example, Michael Miller’s lawsuit claimed that eating was painful and he developed “sexual difficulty” after his hernia mesh surgery. These problems result in loss of quality and enjoyment of life as well as emotional issues.
In cases where the jury finds a defendant’s behavior particularly negligent or harmful, they may award punitive damages in addition to compensation for economic and noneconomic losses. Punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant and discourage the behavior from happening again.
Find an attorney who has recovered fair compensation for people who suffered hernia mesh injuries. Look for an attorney with many years of experience handling hernia mesh cases.
Certain lawyers specialize in specific types of hernia mesh procedures and injuries as well. Look for one with as much experience as possible in your type of case and request a consultation to make sure you trust them to take on your claim.
You may be eligible to file a hernia mesh lawsuit if you had hernia mesh surgery and experienced serious complications, especially if you received mesh made by Ethicon, Atrium or Bard Davol.
Contact an attorney right away to make sure your lawsuit is filed in time. There is a deadline called a statute of limitations, and it varies by state. If you miss the deadline, you won’t be able to file a lawsuit.
Eligibility guidelines may be different depending on the patient or law firm accepting cases, but there are a few basic requirements.
Lillian Graham underwent a hernia repair with Physiomesh at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. She developed complications so severe she needed surgery to remove the Physiomesh.
In her lawsuit, Graham claimed she suffered infection and organ damage. The complaint said the mesh caused a fistula — an abnormal passage between her abdominal wall and her small intestine. The surgeon had to remove the fistula. In the process, the lawsuit said, he found a cavity in her abdominal wall “containing very purulent foul-smelling wadded up mesh material.”
The doctor had to surgically remove the mesh. Graham underwent further surgery about five months later to repair adhesions to her bowel.
In February 2016, Michael Miller received two Bard Davol 3DMax meshes during a hernia repair in Saratoga Springs, New York. His hernia came back less than a month later, and he needed another surgery. This time, a surgeon used a Bard Davol PerFix Plug.
Miller’s lawsuit claimed that he continued to suffer pain and recurrent hernias in the months following revision surgery. He could not eat without pain or bloating. And, the lawsuit said, he developed “sexual difficulty” after the surgery.
James D. Brown underwent hernia repair with Atrium’s C-QUR mesh in December 2013. But he continued to suffer abdominal pain. In January 2016, Brown had the material removed. A pathology report found tissue in the mesh.
The report also noted foreign-body giant cell reactions. This is the result of the body’s defense system reacting to a foreign object. There were also signs of thickening and scarring of connective tissue around the material.
Brown’s lawsuit claimed he continued to suffer pain following the mesh removal.
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Patients have filed lawsuits against three main manufacturers in federal court: Atrium, Bard Davol (C.R. Bard and Davol Inc.) and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon.
Maquet, a subsidiary of Getinge Group, bought Atrium in 2011 and C-QUR mesh is now a part of Getinge’s product portfolio.
State lawsuits are pending against Covidien/Medtronic and W.L. Gore & Associates.
| MANUFACTURER | MODELS INVOLVED IN LAWSUITS |
|---|---|
| Atrium | C-QUR Mesh, C-QUR Edge Mesh V-Patch, C-QUR Lite Mesh V-Patch, C-QUR OVT Mesh, C-QUR RPM Mesh, C-QUR TacShield, C-QUR V-Patch, C-QUR Mosaic, ProLoop |
| Bard Davol | All polypropylene brands, including PerFix Mesh, 3DMax Mesh, Ventralex Patch, Ventralex ST Mesh, Sepramesh IP Composite Mesh, Composix E/X Mesh, Composix L/P, Marlex, Bard Mesh Dart, Ventralight ST, Ventrio ST, Ventrio patch, Visilex, Sperma-Tex, Kugel Hernia Patch, Modified Kugel Hernia Patch, Composix Kugel Hernia Patch |
| Covidien/Medtronic | Parietex Surgical Mesh, Parietex Composite Mesh, Parietex ProGrip Mesh, Parietex Composite Ventral Patch, Parietex ProGrip Self-Fixating Mesh, Parietex Optimized Composite Mesh, Parietex Plug and Patch System, Parietex Composite Open Skirt (PCO OS) Mesh, Parietex Optimized Open Skirt Mesh, Parietex Composite Parastomal (PCO PM) Mesh, Parietex Composite Hiatal Mesh (PCO 2H), Parietex Hydrophilic Anatomical Mesh, Parietex Folding Mesh, Parietex Flat Sheet Mesh, Parietex Lightweight Monofilament |
| Ethicon | Physiomesh Flexible Composite Mesh, Proceed, PHS, Prolene 3D, Prolene Hernia System |
| W.L. Gore & Associates | Gore-Tex DualMesh |
People who file cases for injuries stemming from hernia mesh are filing individual lawsuits, not class actions. Because there are thousands of individual injury lawsuits, judges have consolidated them into large groups called multidistrict litigations, or MDLs, to speed up litigation time and save money.
“The main benefit of being a part of an MDL for anybody is the cost.”
“The main benefit of being a part of an MDL for anybody is the cost,” according to Drugwatch expert Trent Miracle, a trial attorney who has helped clients recover millions of dollars from drug and device companies.
An individual claim could cost half a million dollars to file with depositions, experts and trying the case, Miracle said. In an MDL that cost gets spread out over all the claims in the MDL. This prevents one client from shouldering all the costs.
There are three main MDLs for hernia mesh in Georgia, New Hampshire and Ohio. The first trials are underway.
As of March 2023, the Georgia Northern District Court oversaw 1,455 pending lawsuits regarding Ethicon’s Physiomesh Flexible Composite hernia mesh. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation established the MDL in June 2017.
Bellwether trials were scheduled for March 2021, June 7, 2021, and Sept. 13, 2021, but the judge cancelled all trial dates until further notice. In September 2021, Ethicon agreed to a confidential settlement.
A total of 3,393 lawsuits over Atrium C-QUR mesh were pending in New Hampshire District Court as of March 2023. The judicial panel established the consolidated litigation in December 2016.
The first bellwether trial was scheduled for July 7, 2021, but the case was resolved before trial. Atrium agreed to a confidential settlement, and some sources reported an amount of $66 million.
As of March 2023, there were 18,988 lawsuits pending over different brands of Bard Davol’s polypropylene products in Ohio. The MDL panel established the litigation on Aug. 2, 2018.
The first bellwether trial began at the end of August 2021, and it ended in a win for Bard Davol in September 2021. The second ended in a win for plaintiff Antonio Milanesi and a jury award of $255,000. A third bellwether is scheduled for October 2023.
So far, there have been no publicly announced settlements for the current lawsuits in active MDLs against Covidien, Atrium, Bard and Ethicon. Lawyers typically wait to see what happens during a bellwether trial to gauge how much a case is worth.
In 2011, Bard Davol settled 2,600 Kugel hernia patch lawsuits for $184 million, and the MDL closed in 2017.
Because each case is different, it’s difficult to estimate hernia mesh lawsuit settlement amounts. However, lawyers and companies use several factors to determine hernia mesh settlement amounts.
Factors may include: Severity of injuries, the economic impact (lost wages, medical bills, etc.), the injuries’ effect on quality of life and future financial and medical losses.
After you’ve hired a lawyer, the hernia mesh lawsuit process begins with filing a complaint. Ideally, a lawsuit ends with a settlement or jury verdict. Most cases settle before trial, but keep in mind there is no guarantee of receiving compensation.
The time it takes to settle depends on how quickly a case can go through the phases of a lawsuit and how willing a manufacturer is to settle a claim.
According to Trent Miracle, complex products liability cases can take between three to seven years to resolve.
For example, Bard recalled its Kugel Patch hernia mesh in 2005. In 2007, the first lawsuits were consolidated into an MDL — a large group of lawsuits with similar injuries and claims. But it wasn’t until 2010 that the first bellwether trials occurred.
The Thorpes won the second bellwether trial against Bard in 2010, and the company agreed to settle the remaining lawsuits.
Before filing a lawsuit, make sure you know the brand and manufacturer of your mesh implant. Your medical records should list this information. If you can’t get your records, a lawyer may be able to help.
You should also know the dates of your surgery and revision surgery. Before your revision surgery, make arrangements to preserve the old mesh for evidence in a potential lawsuit.
In May 2018, a court order set rules for preserving Physiomesh as evidence in lawsuits. Judge Richard Story’s order created step-by-step rules to store and preserve the material.
Most people filing hernia mesh lawsuits claim serious injuries that resulted in revision surgery. These injuries include infection, mesh failure, adherence, perforation, migration, bowel obstruction and seroma.
Complications can occur immediately after hernia mesh surgery or years later. If you suspect your injuries were caused by hernia mesh, it’s important that you act fast. There’s a statute of limitations on hernia mesh claims that varies from state to state. Your attorney can help you determine if you’re within the timeframe to file in your state.
The symptoms associated with severe hernia mesh complications can vary. Patients who suffer from hernia mesh adhesion, for example, may experience chronic, severe pain. Individuals who have experienced bowel obstruction report nausea, vomiting or an inability to pass gas or stool.
People interested in filing a hernia mesh lawsuit are seeking compensation. They claim the hernia mesh manufacturer designed and produced a defective product, the product was mislabeled, manufacturers failed to warn consumers about the dangers of the malfunctioning medical device and doctors who implanted faulty mesh committed malpractice. Be prepared to discuss your reason for filing a lawsuit.
Hernia mesh brands manufactured by Atrium, Bard Davol, Covidien/Medtronic and Ethicon are named in lawsuits. Check with your surgeon if you’re not sure what brand of hernia mesh you were implanted with.
Your attorney will recommend that if you have your mesh removed, you should follow the proper protocols for preserving the mesh, as it will serve as crucial evidence in your case.
Your treatment options will depend on the type of hernia mesh complication you’re experiencing. Your surgeon may recommend revision surgery, medication or a combination of both. Let your hernia mesh attorney know what course of action your medical provider has recommended.
Complications associated with hernia mesh can affect your mental and emotional health. Make sure your lawyer is aware of how these complications have impacted your ability to perform daily activities.
Check your medical records for surgery dates. These dates may influence the time limit you have to file a lawsuit.
Over the years, mesh manufacturers have issued recalls for tens of thousands of implants. Some were for minor issues such as packaging, others were for safety problems. You can check for recalls on the FDA’s Medical Device Recall Database.
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