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Ethicon Media Monitoring 08/31/16
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Client solicitation 101: Don’t robocall the guy running the mass tort
Aug 30, 2016 | Reuters
By Alison Frankel
....Occasionally that leads to incidents that are, at best, embarrassing for the marketers, such as when the wife of a defense lawyer for Johnson & Johnson received an unsolicited phone call asking if she had been implanted with pelvic mesh and wanted to file a suit. -
UCLA Partners With Mesh News Desk On Autoimmune Registry of Pelvic Mesh Complications
Aug 30, 2016 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
An autoimmune registry is a dream of Hope Pagano, a mesh-injured woman who developed Lupus shortly after her pelvic mesh implant surgery. Hope felt, as many of you do, that someone should be looking at the autoimmune reactions that women with pelvic mesh implanted to treat prolapse or incontinence, seem to be experiencing with alarming consistency. -
Surgical mesh survey shows 'horrific' effects
Aug 31, 2016 | Newshub
By Simon Wong
The severe after effects of surgical mesh implants have been quantified for the first time in a survey, which suggests many problems could go unreported.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
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Client solicitation 101: Don’t robocall the guy running the mass tort
Aug 30, 2016 | Reuters
By Alison Frankel
The blessing and curse of automated dialing is that robocallers operate without human assistance. That’s great if the goal of the call is, say, to tell parents of schoolkids about a snow day. But a new class action in federal court in Ft. Worth, Texas, suggests that robocalls just might not be the best way to drum up clients in mass tort litigation.
The lead plaintiff in the class action, a Texan named John “Scotty” MacLean, alleges that he received a phone call on July 16 from a number identified as belonging to the “IVC Claims Center.” When MacLean answered the call, according to the complaint, an automated voice advised him to push a particular button if he or anyone he knew had been harmed by an IVC filter. (IVC stands for inferior vena cava; IVC filters are tiny cone-shaped medical devices intended to prevent blood clots from reaching a patient’s heart or lungs.)
Scotty MacLean, as you shall see, had a particular interest in personal injuries caused by IVC filters. He pushed the designated button and was connected to a live representative. MacLean asked some questions and was eventually informed that if he wanted to file a lawsuit, his claim would be handled by Christopher Johnston of the Johnston Law Group. According to his complaint, MacLean told the live rep that he wanted to talk to his wife before moving forward. He requested a callback number, and was given an 800 number for the Arentz Law Group, a law firm that specializes in generating personal injury cases through advertising.
Unfortunately for the Johnston and Arentz firms, Scotty MacLean just happens to be one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers on the steering committee in multidistrict litigation against Cook Medical, one of the makers of IVC filters. (Lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the case are Ben Martin, David Matthews and Matthew Heaviside.) MacLean was none too pleased about what he considered to be improper solicitation in a high-profile case he is helping to direct. And as a Texas resident, he had a powerful way to express his displeasure: State laws entitle the recipients of improper solicitations to file a lawsuit – otherwise known as barratry – to $10,000 for every violation.
So MacLean filed a class action on behalf of all Texans who received robocalls from the marketers working on behalf of Johnston and Arentz. “The marketing cost associated with ‘mass tort’ litigation is significant but most attorneys and firms abide by the rules and laws established by the courts, their bar associations and state statutes regarding barratry,” his complaint said. “Sadly, there are attorneys and law firms that ignore ethical rules and barratry laws and use any means necessary in the mad dash to grab as many clients as they can. These firms blatantly and with complete disregard for the law (and at any cost) unethically and illegally solicit clients.”
Mass torts case generation has increasingly become the province of professional marketers who use tactics developed outside of the litigation arena. Occasionally that leads to incidents that are, at best, embarrassing for the marketers, such as when the wife of a defense lawyer for Johnson & Johnson received an unsolicited phone call asking if she had been implanted with pelvic mesh and wanted to file a suit. Johnson & Johnson cited that call and other solicitations in a 2015 motion for discovery on the origin of cases in the sprawling transvaginal mesh litigation; the company subsequently withdrew the motion when leading plaintiffs’ lawyers in the case pointed out that they had previously cited their own concerns about improper solicitation to the West Virginia federal judge overseeing the multidistrict mesh litigation.
MacLean’s class action, however, is the first time I’ve heard about a plaintiffs’ lawyer suing members of the plaintiffs’ bar for barratry. I have to assume that MacLean’s personal injury firm, MacLean & Boulware, does not have a referral relationship with Arentz or Johnston.
I left phone messages for MacLean, Johnston and Arentz but did not immediately receive responses.
http://blogs.reuters.com/alison-frankel/2016/08/30/client-solicitation-101-dont-robocall-the-guy-running-the-mass-tort/
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UCLA Partners With Mesh News Desk On Autoimmune Registry of Pelvic Mesh Complications
Aug 30, 2016 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
An autoimmune registry is a dream of Hope Pagano, a mesh-injured woman who developed Lupus shortly after her pelvic mesh implant surgery. Hope felt, as many of you do, that someone should be looking at the autoimmune reactions that women with pelvic mesh implanted to treat prolapse or incontinence, seem to be experiencing with alarming consistency.
Is it possible that that polymer is not as biocompatible as the medical device industry promised?
Many Mesh News Desk readers have contributed to the autoimmune registry and your editor contacted UCLA to see if its researchers could do something with this raw data. Today, your editor is happy to announce that UCLA is picking up the autoimmune registry to explore further the associations between polypropylene and other pelvic meshes and autoimmune reactions. Yeah!!!!
Finally – the symptoms are not “in your head” but may someday be quantifiable. MND applauds UCLA for taking this important step!!!
Here is the announcement today from UCLA. Please feel free to share it! And if you have contributed to the registry, please take the 15 minutes or so to take the survey so that results can be tabulated into the UCLA database for consistency. You do NOT have to live in the U.S. to fill out the registry. Men with hernia mesh can also participate. You can participate anonymously so please do not be dissuaded from participating! Thank you all!!! Characterization of the systemic symptoms associated with the developmentof complications after transvaginal mesh placement
Drs. Shlomo Raz and A. Lenore Ackerman from the Department of Urology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are conducting a research study.
If you are a woman who previously underwent pelvic surgery for the treatment of incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, we invited you to let us know about your experiences through an internet-based questionnaire. Your participation in this research study is voluntary.
Why is this study being done?
In this study, we aim to understand the nature and prevalence of complications after mesh augmented pelvic surgeries for incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. These conditions affect hundreds of thousands of women each year, many of whom go on to require surgical correction. are frequently managed with surgeries using polypropylene meshes to augment the pelvic floor support structures that are often lacking in these conditions.
In the past few years, however, a number of complications have emerged from the use of transvaginal mesh. A subset of these complications, such as erosion of the mesh into the vagina, bladder perforation, nerve impingement, vaginal scarring, and painful intercourse, have been well-described in the initially efficacy studies examining these products. Recently, a new class of symptoms developing in patients with prior transvaginal mesh surgeries has come to light, including a wide range of systemic symptoms, such as chronic pain, muscle weakness, joint pain and swelling, sinus problems, chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment, memory loss, and skin changes.
While concerns about the safety of transvaginal mesh products continues to grow due to anecdotal reports of such complications, a precise definition of symptoms associated with prior transvaginal mesh placement has been lacking. This study seeks to define the types of symptoms reported after mesh-augmented pelvic surgery through the use of anonymous questionnaires.
What will happen if I take part in this research study?
Individuals who agree to participate in the study have previously undergone surgical procedures using augmented polypropylene mesh-based procedure to address pelvic organ prolapse or incontinence. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to fill out a one-time questionnaire on pain, urinary and pelvic symptoms, psychosocial consequences, and quality-of-life and recovery after your operation. All information will be reported by you alone; no personal identifying information will be recorded from other sources.
The questionnaire will take a total of about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. While you will not directly benefit from your participation in this study, the results of the research may be very important in helping physicians and patients better understand the risks and benefits of using graft materials in the repair of pelvic floor disorders. Better characterization of the symptoms and problems resulting from the use of transvaginal mesh will hopefully allow more effective treatment as well as the prevention of these problems in the future.
If you are interested in participating, please click here to take our survey.
http://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/ucla-partners-mesh-news-desk-autoimmune-registry-pelvic-mesh-complications/
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Surgical mesh survey shows 'horrific' effects
Aug 31, 2016 | Newshub
By Simon Wong
The severe after effects of surgical mesh implants have been quantified for the first time in a survey, which suggests many problems could go unreported.
Lobby group Mesh Down Under is pushing for change in the way surgeons use the product and is raising awareness for the problems it can cause.
Fifty-seven of the group's 197 members responded to the survey, in which 87 percent said they weren't warned about the potential risks and 91 percent weren't offered an alternative treatment.
The mesh is used in a number of surgeries, including for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.
The survey's results appear contrary to Medsafe's advice to DHBs and private hospitals last year, which said clinicians should consider research and talk to patients about treatment options, including the risks and benefits "in clear and simple terms".Mesh Down Under survey results:70 percent experienced painful sex since surgery20 percent of cases reported to Medsafe80 percent needed one or more follow-up surgeries44 percent had their condition return after surgeryOf those who reported complications, 75 percent said GP didn't know about the adverse effects
Group spokesperson and registered nurse Patricia Sullivan said Medsafe had touted the benefits of mesh outweighing the risks.
"The risks are so horrific, that if people knew the risks, really knew how life-changing they are, they wouldn't do it.
"When it goes bad, it goes really bad," she says.
Problems with the mesh can sometimes take years to be felt, with 45 percent of respondents saying they'd had complications between five and nine years after surgery.
Ms Sullivan, who had an implant in 2008, says that makes it difficult for medical professionals to diagnose, with surgeons reluctant to re-operate.
"It took me four years for it to be diagnosed, and in those four years I saw six different specialists."
Ms Sullivan says the implants are faulty products, and pointed to three US states - Kentucky, Washington and California - suing Johnson & Johnson after they allegedly "concealed and misrepresented" the risk of surgical mesh.
Last week, the Government said it would consider creating a registry for the use of surgical mesh along with other recommendations from the health select committee.The committee recommended:Investigate options for establishing a centralised mesh registry, consistent with international recording of mesh complications;Review best practice around informed consent for surgical mesh patients;Encourage health providers to ensure coding information is consistent so that patients with mesh complications can be identified and monitored;Encourage utilisation of the adverse events reporting system;Endorse ongoing education for surgeons around the use of mesh and mesh removal;Consider expanding Medsafe's role to assess quality and safety of medical devices.
Fellow campaigners Charlotte Korte and Carmel Berry say the recommendations don't go far enough and backed Labour health spokesperson Annette King's call for a full inquiry.
New Zealand First health spokesperson Barbara Stewart says the survey's numbers are concerning and congratulated those who had been "working tirelessly" on the issue.
She urged the Government to adopt all of the committee's recommendations.
"New Zealanders have suffered for long enough. The Government must show leadership," she says.
ACC Minister Nikki Kaye says cost of surgical mesh claims in the 10 years to May 2015 was $7,752,000.
Ms Sullivan says the survey could be considered a pilot study into the effects of surgical mesh because data hasn't been collected by other authorities, including Medsafe.
Newshub.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/surgical-mesh-survey-shows-horrific-effects-2016083115
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