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Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit Reaches $34.5M Settlement
Nov 26, 2015 | Top Class Actions
By Tamara Burns
A settlement has been reached in a state appeals court as Boston Scientific Corp. agreed to pay $34.5 million to a Texas couple who sued the company for placing a medical device on the market that has allegedly injured thousands of women, including the female plaintiff. -
From Babies to Barely Able to Walk By Kath Sansom
Nov 26, 2015 | Female First
By Kath Sansom
How an operation to fix an embarrassing problem that Kate Winslet suffers, is ruining women's lives. So you've had a baby and after worrying how to safely strap in their car seat, get them to sleep through the night and how to shed your baby fat the last thing on your mind is pelvic floor exercises.
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Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit Reaches $34.5M Settlement
Nov 26, 2015 | Top Class Actions
By Tamara Burns
A settlement has been reached in a state appeals court as Boston Scientific Corp. agreed to pay $34.5 million to a Texas couple who sued the company for placing a medical device on the market that has allegedly injured thousands of women, including the female plaintiff.
The state court found the company liable for manufacturing defective defective pelvic mesh. According to court documents, Boston Scientific has settled a “substantial number” of other pelvic mesh lawsuits as well.
Boston Scientific attempted to have the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas toss the $34.5 million judgment, saying the vaginal mesh lawsuit had been settled and the parties would be responsible for their own costs. However, the terms of the transvaginal mesh lawsuit settlement were not disclosed. Surgical Mesh Lawsuit Overview
Back in 2014, the Texas couple won a jury verdict totaling $73 million, which included $50 million in punitive damages. The trial court’s final judgment did end up reducing the amount of punitive damages at a later date.
In the state appeals court, Boston Scientific said they had already reached a master settlement agreement and established a settlement fund for a substantial number of pelvic mesh claims, including the Texas couple’s case.
The couple had already agreed to the vaginal mesh settlement, however, they asked for an extension of time to file a brief so that the settlement was allowed the time to be executed and finalized to its completion.
The extension was filed by the couple on Sept. 21 and they were given until Oct. 29 to respond in a brief to Boston Scientific’s argument that mesh was the doctor-adopted standard of care, so the company could not have been found negligent in manufacturing the pelvic mesh product.
In June, Boston Scientific said that synthetic pelvic mesh slings like their Obtryx mesh products were standard products sought out by the doctors themselves. They also stated that the couple failed to provide an alternate design for the mesh sling.
In addition, Boston Scientific also claimed they provided adequate warnings about mesh complications. The vaginal mesh manufacturer stated that the injuries claimed in the lawsuit were not linkable to the use of their pelvic mesh product.
In 2012, the Texas couple originally filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor and hospital who placed the pelvic sling implant. They then added Boston Scientific to the lawsuit and dropped the doctor and hospital from the pelvic mesh lawsuit.
The bladder sling lawsuit alleged that the material used to make the pelvic mesh was “biologically incompatible with human tissue.” This, they claimed, caused an immune reaction that degraded the pelvic tissue and could cause a serious adverse response to the mesh.
The vaginal mesh lawsuit further claimed that the company marketed the product aggressively while paying health care professionals benefits for promoting the sling, and exaggerated claims about the safety of the product.
The lawsuit was Boston Scientific’s first loss over the Obtryx pelvic mesh product, as the jury found that device unreasonably dangerous in they way it was marketed. They also found there was a safer alternative design available. The jury unanimously ruled that Boston Scientific’s actions were grossly negligent. Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit Information
If you or a loved one has sustained personal injury from a transvaginal mesh or pelvic mesh surgical implant, you may be entitled to legal compensation.
Individuals who have experienced vaginal mesh pain, vaginal mesh infection, mesh erosion or required another transvaginal mesh surgery to correct vaginal mesh complications may have their case reviewed by a vaginal mesh attorney at no charge in order to discuss your legal options.
The Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 05-14-01617-CV in the Texas Court of Appeals for the Fifth District.
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From Babies to Barely Able to Walk By Kath Sansom
Nov 26, 2015 | Female First
By Kath Sansom
How an operation to fix an embarrassing problem that Kate Winslet suffers, is ruining women's lives.
So you've had a baby and after worrying how to safely strap in their car seat, get them to sleep through the night and how to shed your baby fat the last thing on your mind is pelvic floor exercises.
But just because you can't see them, doesn't mean you should ignore your once toned insides, stretched by carrying a baby for nine months.
For some mums the pelvic floor remains strong but for others - around 40 per cent - they never quite get back to what they were.
If you had a big baby, suffered from psd or had a particularly long labour then you are more likely to fall prey.
Add a few years down the line and as muscles give way to gravity you may find you start suffering what I call the "Baby Badge." A sneeze, a cough, laugh too heartily or God forbid a jump on a trampoline with the kids and you get a timely little accident to remind you that your pelvic floor isn't quite what it was - ending up with an embarrassing pant peeing situation ranging from minor to all-out trouser wetting.
Most of us laugh it off, Ok so it's not a glamorous discussion topic, but even the gorgeous Kate Winslet openly joked how she suffers from it while sitting on the chat show couch of Graham Norton recently to the horrified reaction of US rapper 50 Cent.
One sneeze is fine but three in a row and you are asking for trouble, she quipped. For me it was jumping around at gigs, boxing and trampolining that caused a problem.
For some women it gets so bad they leak with every step, wet during their sleep, or even during sex.
So when you are told about a 20 minute day case operation to fix it, seems silly not to grab the opportunity. Who wouldn't?
Except what I, and thousands of other women are not told, is of the devastating life altering consequences that can come out of something described by the NHS as a "low risk" "minimally invasive" gold standard" day case op that only needs a week off work.
Because it can definitely be life changing - but not in the way you expect.
Called a TVT or TVTO surgeons insert a sling made of plastic mesh but some of risks not properly explained to patients include:
Losing your sex life forever,
Struggling to walk or in worst case scenarios ending up in a wheelchair where nerves are damaged or cut into by the mesh tape
Searing pelvic or hip pain forever
Constant burning cystitis sensations for life
Allergic reactions to the polypropylene plastic mesh
I skipped into the operation as one of the fittest mums you could meet.
I came out struggling to walk far before leg pains cut in, cheese wiring sensations on my insides and needing a cocktail of medication to cope.
I'm not alone. There are more than 100,000 lawsuits against the mesh operation in America and women around the world left with ruined lives - all because they wanted to fix their baby badge pant wetting embarrassment.
Mum of two Claire Cooper, 41, says she struggles every day with excruciating pain and describes herself as "used to be fun"
Three years after her mesh operation she was given a womb ablation for heavy periods but the high heat literally melted the mesh into her surrounding tissue.
The GP administrator said: "Some days the pain is so bad I don't know what to do with myself. I once walked the dog 200 yards and had to be brought home by my 73 year old neighbour as I couldn't use my legs any more.
"I went in with a slight pant wetting problem and came out unable to live my life as I knew it. My life is ruined."
Scottish mum Lizzy Ford has been forced to trade her motorbike for a zimmer frame after having the mesh operation.
"I'm not the same person. I have chronic pain every day," she said.
"I've had to give up my work, give up my social life. I was a biker, I'm now using two sticks and a mobility scooter and a walker. I am so young at heart but feel like I'm trapped in the body of an 80-year-old.
When Lizzy reported the pain, she was told there was nothing wrong with the mesh, the pain was in her head and was sent to see a psychiatrist.
"I was told nobody else had ever suffered any side-effects, I was the only one."
Lizzy learned to live with it, but fell upon a story in a national paper about mesh problems, joined a support group and met up with Marion Garland, who was also told she was the only one who suffered side-effects.
Marion said: "I looked the same on the outside, but inside, I was a mess.
"Pain is 24/7. I struggle to rest and need pillows between my knees when I sleep, because if my knees touch, I get a shooting pain, because the mesh is nipping my insides.
"I used to go hill walking with my husband, I can't now. I have to seriously think about what I'm doing each day, because the tiredness, the leg pain and internal pain can be overwhelming."
Mum of two Claire Cooper, 41, says she struggles every day with excruciating pain and describes herself as "used to be fun"
Three years after her mesh operation she was given a womb ablation for heavy periods but the high heat literally melted the mesh into her surrounding tissue.
The GP administrator said: "Some days the pain is so bad I don't know what to do with myself. I once walked the dog 200 yards and had to be brought home by my 73 year old neighbour as I couldn't use my legs any more.
"I went in with a slight pant wetting problem and came out unable to live my life as I knew it. My life is ruined."
Scottish mum Lizzy Ford has been forced to trade her motorbike for a zimmer frame after having the mesh operation.
"I'm not the same person. I have chronic pain every day," she said.
"I've had to give up my work, give up my social life. I was a biker, I'm now using two sticks and a mobility scooter and a walker. I am so young at heart but feel like I'm trapped in the body of an 80-year-old.
When Lizzy reported the pain, she was told there was nothing wrong with the mesh, the pain was in her head and was sent to see a psychiatrist.
"I was told nobody else had ever suffered any side-effects, I was the only one."
Lizzy learned to live with it, but fell upon a story in a national paper about mesh problems, joined a support group and met up with Marion Garland, who was also told she was the only one who suffered side-effects.
Marion said: "I looked the same on the outside, but inside, I was a mess.
"Pain is 24/7. I struggle to rest and need pillows between my knees when I sleep, because if my knees touch, I get a shooting pain, because the mesh is nipping my insides.
"I used to go hill walking with my husband, I can't now. I have to seriously think about what I'm doing each day, because the tiredness, the leg pain and internal pain can be overwhelming."
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
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