Transvaginal Mesh Manufacturer Wants Attorneys’ Fees for Dropped Personal Injury Case
The third bellwether trial in the CR Bard transvaginal mesh multidistrict litigation (MDL) was dropped recently, and now the medical manufacturer is seeking compensation for incurred attorneys’ fees.
According to court documents, the trial in the case of Linda and Ronald Rizzo was scheduled to begin October 8th, but the plaintiffs dismissed their transvaginal mesh lawsuit without explanation on September 20th. Now, CR Bard is demanding $14,000 compensation for attorneys’ fees, contending that if the plaintiffs had dismissed sooner, then they would not have incurred the costs.
Bard contends that the plaintiffs dropped their transvaginal mesh lawsuit after they learned in late August that one of their expert witnesses had failed a board certification examination related to female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. They are at fault if the expert “was less credentialed than they had hoped for,” the transvaginal mesh manufacturer claims.
The company also claims that the pre-trial investigative work they did in relation to the third transvaginal mesh bellwether case cannot be used in other cases in the MDL.
The last-minute dismissal of the case defies the purpose of the bellwether system “to refine the respective positions of the parties and provide them with insight into the likely outcome of the cases and the cases’ value,” according to Bard.
“This goal is thwarted when a party dismisses a bellwether case only weeks before trial is set to begin,” Bard said.
“An award of reasonable attorneys’ fees is appropriate because plaintiffs’ approach to the dismissal of this bellwether case and their belated, unwarranted dismissal caused Bard to incur unnecessary expenses and undermined the bellwether process,” Bard added.
History of Transvaginal Mesh Problems
Transvaginal mesh was originally developed in 1996 and approved by the FDA for organ prolapse that caused vaginal pain and stress urinary incontinence. The original transvaginal mesh, Boston Scientific’s ProtoGen, was recalled in 1999, but due to an FDA approval loophole called 510(k) – which fast-tracks approval of devices similar to previously-approved devices – many other medical manufacturing companies began developing transvaginal mesh devices of their own.
Now, there are six multidistrict litigations (MDLs) against six major medical manufacturers, with thousands of plaintiffs claiming personal injury due to transvaginal mesh failure.
Those six MDLs are:
1. C.R. Bard MDL 2187: In Re C. R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation.
2. Johnson & Johnson/Ethicon MDL 2327: In Re Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation
3. American Medical Systems MDL 2325: In Re American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation
4. Boston Scientific MDL 2326: In Re Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation
- Mentor ObTape MDL 2004: In re Mentor Corp. ObTape Transobturator Sling Products Liability Litigation
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Coloplast MDL 2387: IN RE: Coloplast orp. Pelvic Support Systems
Recently, due to the high number of personal injury claims involving transvaginal mesh devices, CR Bard, Endo Health Solutions, Boston Scientific, Coloplast, and Cook Medical, began settlement talks. Reportedly, these five transvaginal mesh manufacturers faced a total of 30,000 personal injury lawsuits. Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, has not agreed to any settlement talks and will continue facing bellwether trials in its MDL in Virginia.
The Strom Law Firm Fights for Women in Transvaginal Mesh Personal Injury Case
Transvaginal mesh kits were initially produced to help with pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Several varieties of mesh kits exist, but transvaginal mesh specifically was supposed to produce less scarring and pain, because the procedure was less invasive. However, vaginal mesh slings can cause a host of problems, including organ perforation, infection, internal scarring, continued organ prolapse, and bleeding. If you or a loved one has pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, have had a transvaginal mesh device implanted, and have since experienced detrimental complications, you may be entitled to compensation. The experienced lawyers at Strom Law, LLC can help. We offer free consultations, so please contact us today, and we can help get you on the road to recovery. 803.252.4800
