Commentary by Susan Harmon:
Thousands of cases are being governed by the multi-district litigation (“MDL”), mostly being filed in district court for the Southern District of West Virginia, which involves mesh products used to repair pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. One of the manufacturers, American Medical Systems, Inc. (AMS), marketed and sold several transvaginal mesh products which were surgically implanted in women across the world to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. American Medical Systems, Inc. (AMS) is affiliated with Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. and Endo Health Solutions Inc.
The plaintiffs allege that implantation of these transvaginal mesh products has caused permanent and life-altering injuries, including pelvic pain, painful intercourse, corrective surgeries, infection, bladder perforation, vaginal bleeding, scarring, neuropathic numbness, and the erosion of mesh through and into surrounding tissue and organs.
Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, in the Southern District of West Virginia, has been assigned to manage more than 18,000 cases involving the following companies (and growing everyday):
MDL Name Number of Cases
MDL – 2187, IN RE: C.R. Bard, Inc.,
Pelvic RepairSystem Products Liability Litigation 2,938
MDL – 2325, IN RE: American Medical Systems, Inc.,
Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation 6,028
MDL – 2326 IN RE: Boston Scientific Corp.
Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation 3,557
MDL – 2327 IN RE: Ethicon, Inc.,
Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation 5,763
MDL – 2387 IN RE: Coloplast Corp.
Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation 320
TOTAL: 18,606
Johnson & Johnson, Edno Pharmaceuticals, Sofradim Production SAS, K. Tissue Science Laboratories Limited and Gynecare also manufacture a vaginal mesh product.
New Jersey’s MCL is handling two mesh manufacturers’ products made by C.R. Bard and Johnson & Johnson.
The legal team at Zebersky Payne Shaw Lewenz, LLP has filed numerous federal lawsuits on behalf of women who claim to have suffered injuries by the defective transvaginal mesh products sold by American Medical Systems (AMS) and other manufacturers.
