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Trantolo & Trantolo is not currently accepting cases for this lawsuit. Please check in the future for any updates.
Six manufacturers of transvaginal mesh products are facing 23,000 lawsuits, all of which have been consolidated and are being tried in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia. The first against C.R. Bard, although originally resulting in a mistrial in July, reached a verdict on August 16, and the second resulted in a settlement less than a week later.
In the case of Cisson v. C.R. Bard Inc., the plaintiff, a Georgia woman whose quality of life suffered as the result of an Avaulta transvaginal mesh product, received $2 million after a two-week trial. Court documents show the plaintiff experienced perforation to organs, scarring, pelvic pain, and pain during intercourse and ultimately had the product removed. After the jury deliberated for 12 hours, she was awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages.
Since the trial, a spokesperson for C.R. Bard mentioned in an emailed statement that the company plans to appeal, claiming the product did not directly result in the plaintiff’s injuries.
However, a DrugWatch.com piece indicates C.R. Bard never addressed complaints from patients and doctors and never fully tested Avaulta. Specifically, a division president questioned during the trial states C.R. Bard never performed controlled trials on Avaulta before launching it with a campaign that called it a “revolutionary mesh.”
Along with these factors, DrugWatch.com mentions Avaulta is made out of polypropylene – a product that should never be permanently implanted in humans – and did not have protective coating at the ends. As a result, the mesh was “sawing at tissue.”
Since this verdict, the second trial came and went, resulting in a settlement for a North Carolina woman that went through six revision surgeries to remove the mesh. Two more trials are now scheduled for October.
Aside from C.R. Bard, other transvaginal mesh manufacturers facing lawsuits include American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific Corp., Ethicon, and Coloplast.
Although the consolidated cases have moved beyond the state level, in Connecticut, Trantolo & Trantolo has been accepting and assisting with transvaginal mesh claims.
