A recent jury verdict in Charleston, West Virginia has resulted in a $2 million judgment against New Jersey-based C.R. Bard Inc. for injuries suffered by Donna Cisson as a result of flaws in the company’s Avaulta vaginal-mesh implants. It was the first federal trial dealing with claims over injuries caused by vaginal-mesh implants.
Cisson was forced to undergo several surgeries to remove the implanted mesh after she began suffering pain, bleeding and bladder spasms. She alleged that Bard officials ignored warnings about defects in the Avaulta implants – in particular, that the implants were being made out of plastic which carried a warning that it should not be permanently implanted in humans.
Last year, Bard was forced to pull the Avaulta implants off the market after the FDA ordered all makers of vaginal-mesh implants to study rates of organ damage, infection and pain during sex linked to their products. Despite Bard’s claims to the contrary, the jury found that Bard defectively designed the Avaulta implants and failed to properly warn doctors and women about their flaws.
This ruling is the bellwether case for injury claims against companies who manufacture vaginal-mesh implants, with many more rulings certain to follow. Bard already faces more than 8,000 other claims over its Avaulta devices, which Cisson and other women have alleged can cause organ damage and make sexual intercourse painful. Other major manufacturers of vaginal-mesh implants, including Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions Inc., and Boston Scientific Corp. face similar claims stemming from allegations that their devices shrink over time. For more information about the Bard ruling in particular and the current state of claims against vaginal-mesh manufacturers in general, see the following Bloomberg News article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-15/bard-loses-250-000-verdict-in-vaginal-mesh-implant-trial.html.
All of the vaginal-mesh implant cases against Bard and other manufacturers have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin in Charleston in a multi-district litigation proceeding. Casey & Devoti is currently representing several individuals in this litigation. If you believe you have had issues with a vaginal-mesh implant, please feel free to contact our firm for a free evaluation.
