Preview Newsletter
Ethicon Media Monitoring 4/19/2017
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More than 800 women sue NHS and manufacturers over vaginal mesh implants
Apr 18, 2017 | The Guardian
By Hannah Devlin
Some women reported that implants had cut into their vaginas, with one woman saying she was left in so much pain that she considered suicide. Others have been left unable to walk or have sex, according to the BBC. -
Hundreds sue over agonising vaginal mesh implants
Apr 18, 2017 | The Times
By Duncan Geddes
Hundreds of women are suing the NHS and the makers of vaginal implants which have left some unable to walk or have sex. -
Call for end to TVT mesh implants after complications 'covered up'
Apr 18, 2017 | Sky News
By Charlotte Lomas
The call for a ban comes as Sky News sees the leaked minutes from a meeting on how to target the under-reporting of complications. -
Over 800 women sue NHS and transvaginal mesh makers over 'barbaric' implants
Apr 19, 2017 | Internation Business Times
By Ananya Roy
The mesh had allegedly cut through the vaginas of several women leaving them unable to walk, work or have sex. -
Hundreds of women take legal action over 'barbaric' vaginal mesh implants
Apr 19, 2017 | Independent
By Katie Forster
Hundreds of women are taking legal action over problems caused by vaginal mesh implants, which have left many in severe pain and some permanently disabled. -
Hundreds sue NHS over vaginal implants
Apr 18, 2017 | Metro
By Jen Mills
Hundreds of women have sued the NHS over vaginal implants they say caused agonising pain. -
Hundreds of women left unable to walk or have sex by dodgy skin-slicing NHS vaginal implants
Apr 19, 2017 | The Sun
By Shaun Wooller
HUNDREDS of women are suing the NHS over vaginal implants they say have left them unable to walk or have sex. -
Vaginal Mesh Implants are a Thing. And they can be the Stuff of Nightmares for Some Women
Apr 19, 2017 | The Ladies Finger
By Maya Palit
The manufacturers of not so recent invention might finally be confronted for screwing up several women’s lives. -
800 to sue NHS over 'barbaric' mesh implants that cause agonising pain
Apr 18, 2017 | The Telegraph
By Henry Bodkin
More than 800 women are preparing to sue the NHS and the manufacturers of “barbaric” vaginal mesh implants which have left many with permanent, debilitating pain. -
Why hundreds of women are suing the NHS over vaginal mesh surgery: 'It felt like I had cut glass inside me'
Apr 18, 2017 | The Telegraph
By Radhika Sanghani
“I knew the minute I woke up from surgery that something was wrong,” says Dawn Martin, 55. “It felt like broken glass down there. I could barely empty my bladder. It was agony - and it didn’t stop. I called my GP in tears saying 'please sedate me so I don’t have to be in this pain anymore'. I thought it would never end.” -
Health product regulator receives 1,000 complaints over vaginal mesh implants
Apr 19, 2017 | Press Association (In The Sunday Post)
By Jane Kirby
A regulator has received more than 1,000 complaints about vaginal mesh implants as it emerged hundreds of women are suing manufacturers and the NHS. -
Hundreds sue NHS over vaginal mesh
Apr 18, 2017 | Medical Plastics News
By Lu Rahman
Over 800 women who have undergone vaginal mesh implants are taking legal action as they say they have been left in pain. Some say they have also been left unable to walk or have sex. -
Over 800 women are suing the NHS after their vaginal mesh implants have left them in pain so severe they are unable to walk, work or have sex - with some even considering suicide
Apr 18, 2017 | The Daily Mail
By Alexandra Thompson
Over 800 women are suing the NHS and device manufacturers after being left in permanent pain thanks to their vaginal mesh implants. -
Hundreds of women to sue NHS over "barbaric" vaginal mesh implants which cut through them like 'cheese wire'
Apr 19, 2017 | Mirror
By Abigail O'leary
Women said 'this stuff breaks up marriages' as another considered taking her own life when the pain became so excruciating her husband was forced to become her full-time carer -
Hundreds of women are suing the NHS and the makers of vaginal implants which have left some unable to walk or have sex.
Apr 18, 2017 | RT
Over 800 women are taking the makers of a vaginal mesh implant and the National Health Service (NHS) to court after the contraption left them with chronic pain, as well as being unable to walk or have sex. -
Law That Gives State a Big Bite of Punitives Is Seldom Used
Apr 19, 2017 | Daily Report
By Greg Land
Enacted as part of the Georgia Tort Reform Act of 1987, the state's punitive damages statute requires, among other things, that 75 percent of any punitive damage award in a product liability suit be turned over to the state. -
Law Firms Remaining in TVM Litigation
Apr 18, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
Many of the large Mass Tort law firms are no longer taking transvaginal mesh cases (TVM).
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
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More than 800 women sue NHS and manufacturers over vaginal mesh implants
Apr 18, 2017 | The Guardian
By Hannah Devlin
More than 800 women are suing the NHS and the manufacturers of vaginal mesh implants after suffering serious complications.
Some women reported that implants had cut into their vaginas, with one woman saying she was left in so much pain that she considered suicide. Others have been left unable to walk or have sex, according to the BBC.
However, the medical regulator said that the best current evidence supports the continued use of mesh implants to resolve health conditions that could themselves cause serious distress to patients.
The implants are used to treat incontinence after childbirth or pelvic organ prolapse, where the womb or bladder bulge against the walls of the vagina.
Between April 2007 and March 2015, more than 92,000 women had vaginal mesh implants in England, NHS data shows. About one in 11 women suffered complications. The issue reached prominence in Scotland last year after women with painful and debilitating complications formed a support group.
Claire Cooper began to experience pain three years after her operation. Doctors initially thought the discomfort was related to the removal of her womb, a procedure she had undergone aged 39.
When the pain continued, she said a GP told her she was imagining it. This, and the severity of the pain, resulted in suicidal thoughts, which she said she only overcame because of her children. Her constant pain has forced her husband to become her carer.
Cooper said she and her husband have not had sex for more than four years. “This stuff breaks up marriages,” she told the BBC. “I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there are mesh-injured women that have taken their own lives and didn’t know what the problem was.”
Another woman, Kate Langley, described the surgery as “barbaric”. She told the BBC that a surgeon who examined her “could see the [mesh] tape had come through my vagina – protruding through”.
Data from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for 2012 to 2017 shows there were 703 adverse incidents relating to patients who had been given the implants to treat stress urinary incontinence, where urine leaks when the bladder is under pressure. A further 346 adverse incidents were reported for patients who had been given a mesh support to prevent pelvic organ prolapse.
The MHRA said the figures did not necessarily indicate a fault with any particular device and said evidence supported the continued use of vaginal mesh surgery for certain conditions.
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A spokesman said: “What we have seen, and continue to see, is that evidence supports, and the greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support, the use of these devices in the UK for treatment of the distressing conditions of incontinence and organ prolapse in appropriate circumstances.”
A study published in the Lancet in December found that women who were given mesh implants were roughly three times more likely to suffer complications and twice as likely to need follow-up surgery compared with women who had the traditional version of the surgery, where stitches are used to provide support for the organs.
Rachael Wood, a consultant in public health medicine for NHS National Services Scotland and the lead author of the Lancet study, said: “The results were quite clear that women do suffer a higher complication rate and that it is no more effective. You can make quite a clear recommendation that it shouldn’t be the first line of treatment for prolapse.”
However, Wood said that the results on incontinence surgery were less clear, and for incontinence the study found fewer short-term complications when mesh surgery had been used compared to traditional treatment, which involves major surgery.
She said: “There’s no doubt that some women have had very poor outcomes. It is worth saying that nothing is without risk. There are also bad outcomes from traditional surgery and from doing nothing.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/18/more-than-800-women-sue-nhs-and-manufacturers-over-vaginal-mesh-implants
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Hundreds sue over agonising vaginal mesh implants
Apr 18, 2017 | The Times
By Duncan Geddes
Hundreds of women are suing the NHS and the makers of vaginal implants which have left some unable to walk or have sex.
Mesh tape operations have led to debilitating and often permanent pain in some patients, many of whom allege that surgeons and manufacturers failed to warn them of the risks.
The treatment is used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence, often after childbirth.
More than 92,000 women had mesh installed in England between April 2007 and March 2015, NHS data shows. About one in 11 women experienced issues, according to BBC analysis of the figures.
More than 800 women have joined legal action against the health service and manufacturers of the mesh.
One woman, Claire Cooper, said a GP told her she was imagining her pain. Calling for an outright ban on the Victoria Derbyshire programme, she said: “I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there are mesh-injured women that have taken their own lives and didn’t know what the problem was.”
Kate Langley, who gave up her childminding business due to the pain, said the mesh had “cut its way through like a cheese-wire” and led to 53 hospital admissions.
Lawyers believe that the NHS could be forced to pay out millions of pounds if it loses the case. The legal action targets manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson, the US pharmaceutical giant which has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to affected women in America. Its subsidiary Ethicon said it was “vigorously defending litigation” and said its devices had helped millions of women.
Mesh operations have continued in parts of Scotland despite the health secretary calling for their suspension in 2014. More than 400 Scottish women are taking legal action and have raised concerns at the handling of an independent review.
Its recommendations, published last month and accepted by Holyrood, said implants must not be routinely offered and should be presented as part of an “informed choice”. The panel expressed “serious concern” that women were not believed when they reported pain and called for better research on the safety of mesh operations.
The UK regulatory body, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said it sympathised with those who suffered side effects and was committed to addressing concerns. “The greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK,” a spokesman added.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hundreds-sue-over-agonising-vaginal-mesh-implants-5qz6h77d8
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Call for end to TVT mesh implants after complications 'covered up'
Apr 18, 2017 | Sky News
By Charlotte Lomas
The call for a ban comes as Sky News sees the leaked minutes from a meeting on how to target the under-reporting of complications.
There are growing calls for a controversial medical procedure used to help cure stress incontinence in women to be suspended as medical professionals describe it as the biggest health scandal of our time.
Campaigners have also claimed there's been a cover-up by the UK regulatory body, the MHRA, which they say has attempted to divert attention away from recording adverse incidents.
It comes as Sky News has seen leaked minutes from a meeting on how to target the under-reporting of mesh complications.
It instructs the regulatory body the MHRA to "look into taking the press element out of the mesh yellow card campaign" and "investigate whether there can be a general yellow card campaign, of which mesh is one element, to avoid attention on mesh".
The Yellow Card Scheme collects information of suspected problems and incidents and is used by medical professionals in setting guidelines.
But many women who have suffered complications from mesh say they were never told of the Yellow Card Scheme or how to report a problem.
The MHRA says it is actively engaging with the media and encourages anyone who suspects a complication to report it to their clinician and via the Yellow Card Scheme.
As Sky News first reported two years ago, thousands of women in the UK are in chronic pain, some unable to walk, have suicidal thoughts and are on maximum strength painkillers for the rest of their lives after having TVT mesh implant surgery.
The procedure lasts 20 minutes and is offered to women who suffer incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse after childbirth.
But the mesh can cut into surrounding tissue and nerves causing severe discomfort.
Hundreds of women are now suing the NHS after suffering complications.
According to hospital episode statistics the implants can cause problems for one in 11 women (8.58%).
However, most surgeons and NHS paperwork say risks are low - with their estimates suggesting between 1% and 3% of women experience adverse side effects.
Figures show 471 women had their mesh implants either totally or partially removed from 2015 to 2016.
But for that same year the MHRA says there were 171 adverse incidents reported.
Cambridgeshire mother-of-two Kath Sansom had the mesh implant on the NHS in 2015 and soon after experienced excruciating leg and groin pain.
She spearheads a campaign to raise awareness and is calling for the procedure to be banned.
"There are women in wheelchairs or walking with sticks because of this operation," she said.
"Others with life-altering chronic pain, on cocktails of high dose medication.
"Many can no longer work, marriages have broken down and all for a 20-minute operation that was supposed to improve their quality of life.
"For each woman affected it is a story of personal tragedy. More than half the women in my campaign have lost their sex lives where the mesh has cut into or inflamed sensitive tissue.
"Overnight I went from a super fit mum of teenagers who did boxing training twice a week, high board diving, swimming, mountain biking and dancing at gigs, to a physical wreck who could just about walk my dog round the park."
Consultant urogynaecologist Dr Sohier Elneil is one of only a few qualified surgeons in the country who can remove the mesh implant once it's been fitted.
Since Sky News spoke with her two years ago, she says she's seen a huge increase in patients.
"I used to see about five women a week and now it's more like 15," she said.
"NICE have revised their guidelines and made them more robust but I still feel many women are getting the procedure done without the full information about the risks."
Consultant gynaecologist Dr Wael Agur helped advise the Scottish government on the use of mesh during an independent review. He was once an advocate of the surgery but has changed his mind since hearing evidence.
"TVT mesh is the biggest health scandal of our time. It's third after PIP implants and metal on metal hip implants," he said.
"There is significant under reporting of adverse events to the MHRA and because of this the MHRA has only a fraction of the knowledge of adverse events related to these mesh procedures."
"I do not think the procedure should be used for prolapse and more research is needed into its use for incontinence."
Owen Smith MP is backing calls to suspend the procedure in England until more information is known about the risks associated with TVT mesh and will raise the debate in parliament next month.
The UK regulatory body, the MHRA, says for the majority of women, the use of vaginal mesh implants is safe and effective and they are committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients.
The procedure was halted in Scotland in June 2014 but reinstated in March 2017 amid claims of the independent review was a whitewash.
A MHRA spokesperson said: "Patient safety is our highest priority and we are committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients.
"MHRA strongly encourages the reporting of issues related to all medical devices. When promoting reporting it is important to strike a balance between causing undue concern to patients who may benefit from a procedure and making sure they are aware of the potential complications.
"The evidence we have seen and continue to see is the greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK for treatment of the distressing conditions of incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse."
http://news.sky.com/story/call-for-end-to-tvt-mesh-implants-after-complications-covered-up-10842078
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Over 800 women sue NHS and transvaginal mesh makers over 'barbaric' implants
Apr 19, 2017 | Internation Business Times
By Ananya Roy
The mesh had allegedly cut through the vaginas of several women leaving them unable to walk, work or have sex.
More than 800 women in the UK who have undergone transvaginal mesh implant at NHS hospitals are suing the organisation and the makers of the implants after they have been left in permanent pain and discomfort following the procedure. If they win, the NHS could have to award tens of millions of pounds in compensation, experts say.
The implants, which are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence following childbirth, have allegedly severely damaged several women, leaving them unable to walk, work or have sex.
NHS data from the Hospital Episodes Statistics, obtained by the Victoria Derbyshire programme, reportedly suggested that more 92,000 women had undergone vaginal mesh implants in England between April 2007 and March 2015.
About one in 11 of these women had suffered painful complications after having the implant. Women told the programme that they were never cautioned by their surgeons about the potential risks associated with the implant procedure.
US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson — the biggest manufacturers of the implants — is among the defendants in the case. Its subsidiary, Ethicon, reportedly said it was "vigorously defending litigation".
Calling the meshes "barbaric", Kate Langley — one of the patients who received an implant — told the broadcaster that despite having gone through 53 hospital admissions to try to end the pain caused following the implant, the mesh could not be fully removed as it was near a nerve. She added that she has been left in permanent pain and has suffered nerve damage due to the mesh and had to give up her job as a childminder.
The surgeon who first examined her reportedly told her that the mesh had cut its way through her vagina "like a cheese-wire".
Another patient Claire Cooper is calling for a ban on the procedure. She said she began feeling intense pain three years after the procedure and doctors were unable to detect the source of the pain. She reported having suicidal thoughts.
"We haven't had sex for four-and-a-half years. This stuff breaks up marriages," she said, noting that her husband has now turned into her carer.
"I wouldn't at all be surprised if there are mesh-injured women that have taken their own lives and didn't know what the problem was. I want the procedure banned, I want the material banned."
An MHRA spokesman told the Victorial Derbyshire programme that the organisation was "committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients", and that "the greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK".
A statement from Scotland's national health information service NHS Inform stated that the procedure would be suspended until an independent review had been completed.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/over-800-women-suing-nhs-makers-transvaginal-mesh-implants-over-painful-consequences-1617334
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Hundreds of women take legal action over 'barbaric' vaginal mesh implants
Apr 19, 2017 | Independent
By Katie Forster
Hundreds of women are taking legal action over problems caused by vaginal mesh implants, which have left many in severe pain and some permanently disabled.
The plastic mesh is used to treat organ prolapse and incontinence, usually after childbirth. There are around 1,500 implants carried out in the UK each year to support the vaginal wall or nearby organs such as the bladder or bowel, according to the NHS.
In the majority of cases, the procedure works – but more than 800 women who have suffered painful and distressing complications are suing the health service and manufacturers of the mesh.
Kate Langley, who was admitted to hospital more than 53 times due to “agonising pain” caused by vaginal mesh, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme the implants were “barbaric”.
“I could feel something really sharp every time I walk, it feels like something sharp is inside me, and I couldn’t tell what it was,” she said.
“The surgeon examined me and he could tell the [mesh] had come through my vagina. It had come all the way through and was protruding through. It’s barbaric.”
The thin plastic netting is made from a material called polypropylene, also used to make plastic chairs and drinks bottles.
Its insertion is meant to be permanent, but the mesh can cut through the wall of the vagina, with some women left unable to walk, work or have sex – with the protrusion so severe in some cases it had also injured their partner during sex.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received more than 1,000 complaints about vaginal mesh implants.
There were 703 adverse incidents in the last five years among women with the implants related to stress urinary incontinence, while 346 were reported by patients suffering pelvic organ prolapse.
The MHRA told the BBC it “sympathises” with the women affected, but said the use of vaginal mesh implants were safe and effective for the majority of women.
They also said the figures did not necessarily indicate a fault with any particular device and said individual women may have reported more than one adverse reaction.
There are around 100 different types of vaginal mesh implants available on the NHS. None have yet been recalled due to complications caused by the device.
Manufacturer Ethicon said the implants “have helped millions of women”, adding it had “acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of its pelvic mesh products”.
In the US, transvaginal mesh is classed as a high-risk device, but is still used by some surgeons.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said last year it has seen “a significant increase in the number of reported adverse events associated with the use of surgical mesh for transvaginal pelvic organ prolapse repair”.
Carl Heneghan, a professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford, told the BBC that new devices were being clinically approved without the regulator examining them.
A number of women, including Claire Cooper, who said the pain and disruption caused by her mesh implant had caused her to consider taking her own life, have called for the implants to be banned.
Lisa Woodrow, from Thetford in Norfolk, said she had been in a wheelchair for 18 months after the operation left her unable to walk.
“I joked that this operation would make me feel like a new woman,” she said in a blog post.
“Now I’ve had the mesh removed, my legs shake badly and I need a stick to support me”.
The 53-year-old had the mesh inserted in 2012 after the birth of her two sons caused prolapse of her uterus and mild incontinence.
She is now registered disabled and is on the highest legal dose of daily painkillers.
Almost 9 per cent of users have reported problems, according to the BBC, while lawsuits in the US have seen around £2bn paid out to affected women.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/vaginal-mesh-implants-women-nhs-lawsuit-legal-action-childbirth-incontinence-pelvic-organ-prolapse-a7688246.html
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Hundreds sue NHS over vaginal implants
Apr 18, 2017 | Metro
By Jen Mills
Hundreds of women have sued the NHS over vaginal implants they say caused agonising pain.
The plastic mesh implants are used to treat damage after childbirth, for example if there is a pelvic organ prolapse or incontinence.
But many women have come forward to say that the treatment left them doubled up with pain.
Kate Langley told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that the mesh had ‘cut its way through – like a cheese-wire’, getting so close to a nerve that it could not be removed even after 53 hospital admissions.
Other women said similar perforation had happened, making sex painful for their partners.
Claire Cooper said the pain was so intense it caused her to contemplate suicide, saying her husband had turned into her carer.
‘We haven’t had sex for four-and-a-half years. This stuff breaks up marriages,’ she said.
‘I want the procedure banned.’
According to the BBC, more than 92,000 women had the NHS procedure between April 2007 and March 2015.
Most did not experience problems, but around 1 in 11 are believed to have suffered complications.
More than 800 women are taking joint legal action against the NHS and the companies which manufacture the mesh, including Johnson & Johnson.
It would be ‘vigorously defending litigation’, its subsidiary, Ethicon, told the BBC.
In the US, women have already been awarded billions in similar lawsuits against manufacturers.
Consultant urogynaecologist Dr Sohier Elneil told the BBC she saw patients affected: ‘They become so incapacitated that many of them are either walking by crutches or sitting in wheelchairs and perhaps more dramatically so, they become unable to look after their families.’The NHS responded
An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘While many women have been treated successfully using transvaginal mesh implants, we do recognise a number of women have suffered complications or poor outcomes.
‘We have listened carefully to issues raised through a working group of woman affected, which has made recommendations to improve the quality of care and information available.
‘We are making progress in completing these changes and a final report setting out the action taken will be published later this year.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Johnson and Johnson for comment.
http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/18/hundreds-sue-nhs-over-vaginal-implants-6580901/ -
Hundreds of women left unable to walk or have sex by dodgy skin-slicing NHS vaginal implants
Apr 19, 2017 | The Sun
By Shaun Wooller
HUNDREDS of women are suing the NHS over vaginal implants they say have left them unable to walk or have sex.
The plastic mesh ops strengthen the walls of the vagina and treat incontinence but can slice through skin, causing permanent pain.
One of the 800 suing the health service and numerous manufacturers said the mesh cut into her “like a cheese wire”. Others say they have injured their partner during sex.
More than 92,000 women in England had implants between 2007 and 2015. One in 11 is believed to have problems.
Claire Cooper, now cared for by her husband, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show: “We haven’t had sex for 4½ years.”
“I want the procedure banned, I want the material banned.”
Consultant Dr Sohier Elneil said she sees patients in the UK who have been left with severe pain and unable to walk because of the meshes.
She added: “Often they are on high-dose medication, including opiates.
The implants are prescribed on the NHS across the UK but a Scots review said use should not be routine for pelvic organ prolapse, caused by weak muscles after childbirth or ops.
A leaked email from major manufacturer Johnson & Johnson suggested it had known of problems with one of its products since 2004.
Expert Professor Carl Heneghan said manufacturers have to provide little evidence before their product is clinically approved and made available on the NHS.
He said they only have to provide documents that show their vaginal mesh implant is similar to one already on the market and it is highly likely to be approved.
Subsidiary Ethicon was “vigorously defending” the legal claims.
The MHRA said more than 1,000 adverse incidents related to mesh implants were reported over the past five years.
An MHRA spokesman said: “Patient safety is our highest priority and we sympathise with women who have suffered complications after surgery.
“We are committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients.”
Thousands in the US have won payouts.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3358681/hundreds-of-women-left-unable-to-walk-or-have-sex-by-dodgy-skin-slicing-nhs-vaginal-implants/
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Vaginal Mesh Implants are a Thing. And they can be the Stuff of Nightmares for Some Women
Apr 19, 2017 | The Ladies Finger
By Maya Palit
The manufacturers of not so recent invention might finally be confronted for screwing up several women’s lives. Over 800 women in the UK are suing the National Health Service because of their horrific experiences after getting vaginal mesh implant sugeries. The mesh (made from synthetic polypropylene, the material used to make plastic bottles) implant is meant to relieve patients suffering from incontinence following childbirth, or cases of pelvic organ prolapse, where the womb or the bladder tends to press against the vaginal walls.
But the operation has created serious problems for lots of women, with a large proportion claiming that they were in such severe pain that they were struggling to walk, have sex, and work. One person said she had contemplated suicide because the pain was so unbearable, and another said that the mesh had cut all the way through her vagina “like a cheese wire”. Others complained that they had tried to get it removed because of the pain but the mesh was too near a nerve to remove.
More than 92,000 women in the UK have had these implants between 2007 and 2015, but it turns out that one in 11 women experienced discomfort, pain, or severe consequences of some sort, and three years ago, the Scottish health secretary suggested suspendingthem. Women across the US had also sued manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson after having to deal with the debilitating pain caused by the meshes, and a US lawyer compared the mesh to other dangerous materials like asbestos.
The vaginal mesh implant has apparently been introduced in some clinics in India too, but information about its consequences is scarce, although research in the Indian Journal of Urology examined some of the complications caused by the mesh. But the UK’s medical regulator has stood its ground, declaring that the mesh is usually safe for women. It continues to be prescribed by the NHS, although a public health consultant in the NHS said that given the risk of developing complications, it shouldn’t be marketed as the primary remedy for patients with prolapse.
http://theladiesfinger.com/vaginal-mesh/
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800 to sue NHS over 'barbaric' mesh implants that cause agonising pain
Apr 18, 2017 | The Telegraph
By Henry Bodkin
More than 800 women are preparing to sue the NHS and the manufacturers of “barbaric” vaginal mesh implants which have left many with permanent, debilitating pain.
Experts have criticised UK regulators for all but waving through the crude devices, which are used to treat post-natal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, with minimal investigation into their safety.
At least 92,000 women had a vaginal mesh implant in England in the eight years up to March 2015, with almost 10 per cent experiencing problems.
Patients have reported being left unable to walk, work or enjoy a sex life as a result of the pain, and in the most extreme cases the devices lacerated women’s insides “like a cheese-wire”.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said it “sympathises” with the women affected.
So far, however, not a single mesh model has been recalled in the UK, despite the regulator receiving more than 1,000 complaints in the last five years.
The data from the MHRA, from 2012 to this year, shows there were 703 adverse incidents about stress urinary incontinence related to the mesh implants. This means urine leaks out when the bladder is under pressure, such as when coughing or laughing.
A further 346 adverse incidents were for patients with the devices suffering pelvic organ prolapse.
Women in the US have received several billion dollars in payouts after suing manufacturers.
The meshes are still prescribed by the NHS, however a review in Scotland recently said they should not be prescribed routinely for pelvic organ prolapse.
One affected patient, Kate Langley, told the Victoria Derbyshire programme she had been to hospital 53 times to try and end the pain, but doctors had told her the mesh was too near a nerve to be fully removed.
Describing the product as “barbaric”, she said her surgeon “could see the [mesh] tape had come through my vagina - protruding through.
“The mesh had cut its way through like a cheese-wire.”
Professor Carl Heneghan, an Oxford University expert in evidence-based medicine, said manufacturers have to provide little evidence before their product is clinically approved for NHS use.
“The regulatory body...doesn’t even look at the advice,” he told the BBC.
Another patient, Claire Cooper, told Victoria Derbyshire she had planned her own suicide after non-stop pain began about three years after a mesh was implanted.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are mesh-injured women that have taken their own lives and didn’t know what the problem was,” she said, revealing that her GP had told her she was imagining her pain.
“I want the procedure banned, I want the material banned.”
A spokesman for the MHRA said the organisation was “committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients”, adding: “The greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK.”
The UK legal action is against the NHS and manufacturers, including US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, the biggest makers of mesh implants.
Its subsidiary, Ethicon, told the BBC it was "vigorously defending litigation".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/18/800-sue-nhs-barbaric-mesh-implants-cause-agonising-pain/
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Apr 18, 2017 | The Telegraph
By Radhika Sanghani
“I knew the minute I woke up from surgery that something was wrong,” says Dawn Martin, 55. “It felt like broken glass down there. I could barely empty my bladder. It was agony - and it didn’t stop. I called my GP in tears saying 'please sedate me so I don’t have to be in this pain anymore'. I thought it would never end.”
Martin, an advanced NHS nurse practitioner, is one of thousands of women who have had severe reactions to transvaginal mesh implants designed to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence after childbirth. She had four children over five years in her twenties, and two decades later, found her incontinence was worsening. When she heard about the simple mesh, she hardly needed convincing.
“My sister-in-law had already had the surgery and said it was great. At the time my husband was having open heart surgery so I was too preoccupied to look into all the pros and cons. I thought it would be fine and would solve this one problem, but it was probably the worst thing I’ve ever done,” says Martin, three years after she had the implant.
She woke up in immediate pain, but was discharged. For the next few months, she struggled to urinate, and suffered with chronic pain. Doctors eventually agreed to remove the mesh, but after the first attempt, Martin was administered to intensive care after suffering anaphylaxis, and a subsequent respiratory arrest in reaction to the pain killer she was on.
It was only in August 2015, more than a year after having the initial procedure, that the full mesh was removed. Doctors found it had shrunk more than they had expected, so was cutting through Martin's urethra into her bladder. She now has no mesh inside her, but still suffers severe health problems.
“I still have issues down there, and a total lack of libido,” explains Martin. “I’m also permanently exhausted. I don’t feel attractive anymore. I feel it’s aged me by 20 years. I feel like a completely different person. I wish I’d never had the surgery and had just relied on exercises and sanitary towels.”
Martin is one of hundreds of women who have tried, and are still trying, to take legal action against the NHS and makers of vaginal mesh implants. More than 92,000 women had vaginal mesh implants from 2007 to 2015 in England. Around one in 11 are said to have problems. More than 800 of these women are now taking legal action against the NHS and mesh manufacturers, including Johnson and Johnson. In the US, women have been awarded billions of dollars in similar cases.
A 2012 Government report found around 15 per cent of vaginal mesh procedures resulted in complications, though it was unclear how many patients had suffered problems before surgery. At the time, Dr Susanne Ludgate, Clinical Director for Medical Devices at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said evidence showed: “when these products are used correctly they can help with the very distressing symptoms of these conditions and as such the benefits still outweigh the risks”.
This week, the MHRA said the organisation was “committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients”, adding: “The greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK.”
Despite hundreds of complaints, the mesh is still available on the NHS in the UK, and women such as Kate Foley, a 49-year-old mother of two from Surrey, are offered the implants after stress incontinence typically caused by childbirth. “I have private healthcare and didn’t think too much about it,” says Foley, who has suffered with mesh-related complications for years. “I didn’t read enough. I wish I’d looked into it more and read about the risks.”
Her initial procedure resulted in two years without problems. But when the incontinence came back, surgeons convinced her to have more mesh put in, and discovered mid-operation that the original piece had eroded and entered her bladder.
It was removed, but a year later, Foley found that some of the remaining mesh had cut through to her vagina. “It was a hard edge,” she recalls. “I could feel it. I couldn’t use tampons and it was sharp. Intercourse wasn’t comfortable. I was told it wouldn’t cause any harm, however it was uncomfortable and psychologically I wanted it out.”
Eventually Foley had all the mesh removed, and was given a Burch Colposuspension to help with the incontinence - a surgical procedure where the front wall of the vagina is lifted and an alternative to mesh implants - but today, almost five years after first having the implant, she says it has still affected her life.
“My husband is amazing and very supportive, but it has affected me mentally. It’s changed how I feel about intercourse so it has affected our relationship in that way. I feel like I’m 80. Although I don’t leak every day, if I get the urge then I really need to go, but then it can stop. I dread to think what it will be like on a plane. I hate going to the toilet. It’s affected my anxiety and made it worse. I just wish I’d had the Burch Colposuspension from the start.”
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG) recommends that transvaginal mesh can “be appropriate and can be far less invasive that alternative surgical produces”, referencing a UK PROSPECT study in The Lancet showing that mesh is a successful treatment for prolapse in most cases, and the majority of women treated with mesh respond well to this treatment.
They recognised, however, "a risk of possible complications which include mesh erosion, infection and bleeding, and the strain of future pregnancies may cause the prolapse to recur," and stressed that women's choices should be at the centre of their treatment:
"It is important that healthcare professionals explain all of the treatment options for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence to women, and ensure that they understand the pros and cons and risks of each. It is essential that women are at the centre of the decision making process when it comes to their care. While surgery may be an option for treating a prolapse, it’s essential that the patient and doctor feel that the possible benefits will outweigh the risks.”
June Smith, a 67-year-old retired secretary and mother of two from Cambridgeshire has suffered with problems and extreme pain ever since her 2012 operation. Two years after she surgery, she found a small piece of mesh floating in her bath water. The implant had broken up, and she had surgery to remove some parts of it, but was still left in agony.
“It felt like cut glass inside me and it had hardened because I couldn’t sit down and I was in a hell of a lot of pain,” she says. “I told my husband I couldn’t continue with the pain and wanted to kill myself. I was in a very bad place. I was really depressed.”
Her husband was so worried that he eventually paid more than £10,000 for his wife to have the mesh removed privately, but after several treatments, Smith is still suffering. “I’ve had pain and infection ever since,” she says, tearing up.
“I’ve been on antibiotics since October 2014. It’s ruined my life. I was meant to be enjoying my retirement but I’m in bed by 9pm. My husband has to do everything around the house. I’m considering having my bladder removed because I can’t live a normal life. I’ve had so many operations and I still can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
She is now trying to fight for legal compensation: “I’ve suffered so much and so much expense. I have to try and fight. They can’t give me my life back. They’ve ruined my life.”
For Martin, the legal case has been unsuccessful as her lawyers were unable to put together a case, but she hopes that the NHS will ultimately ban vaginal mesh operations.
“It disappoints me that it’s still the gold standard procedure for stress incontinence,” she says. “My life will never be the same after this. I could quite easily at one point have killed myself. I’ve never felt like that before but I didn’t think there would be a way out. It takes over your life.”
An NHS England spokesperson said: “While many women have been treated successfully using transvaginal mesh implants, we do recognise a number of women have suffered complications or poor outcomes. We have listened carefully to issues raised through a working group of women affected, which has made recommendations to improve the quality of care and information available. We are making progress in completing these changes and a final report setting out the action taken will be published later this year.”
Still, women who have suffered the effects of transvaginal mesh are fighting for the NHS to stop offering the treatments - and to say sorry. Foley, who had her treatment privately and is not suing, said: “I don’t think I’m strong enough to go down the legal route. Besides, rather than looking for money, I just don’t want anyone to go through this again. An apology might help me mentally, but it’s more important for me that no woman ever goes through this again. Ever.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/health/hundreds-women-suing-nhs-vaginal-mesh-surgery-felt-like-had/
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Health product regulator receives 1,000 complaints over vaginal mesh implants
Apr 19, 2017 | Press Association (In The Sunday Post)
By Jane Kirby
A regulator has received more than 1,000 complaints about vaginal mesh implants as it emerged hundreds of women are suing manufacturers and the NHS.
Data from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), obtained by the Press Association, shows more than 1,000 adverse incidents related to the mesh implants have been reported in the past five years.
The implants are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence after childbirth, but some women have reported severe discomfort and inability to walk or have sex.
The data from the MHRA, from 2012 to this year, shows there were 703 adverse incidents about stress urinary incontinence related to the mesh implants. This means urine leaks out when the bladder is under pressure, such as when coughing or laughing.
A further 346 adverse incidents were for patients with the devices suffering pelvic organ prolapse. The implants are supposed to support organs such as the vagina, uterus, bowel, bladder or urethra that have prolapsed after childbirth.
The MHRA said the figures did not necessarily indicate a fault with any particular device and said individual women may have reported more than one adverse incident.
The data comes after the BBC reported that more than 800 women are suing the NHS or the device manufacturers after experiencing issues.
Almost 9% of users have reported problems, it said, while lawsuits in the US have seen around £2bn paid out to affected women.
The issue reached prominence in Scotland last year after women with painful and debilitating complications formed a support group.
In March, Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison defended an independent inquiry into the implants, which concluded they should not be offered routinely to women with pelvic organ prolapse.
Three members of the inquiry resigned after patient representatives said critical parts of the report were removed.
Research in December in The Lancet medical journal said using mesh implants to treat pelvic prolapse leads to a higher level of complications than other surgery.
An MHRA spokesman said: “Patient safety is our highest priority and we sympathise with women who have suffered complications after surgery.
“We are committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients.
“We have undertaken a great deal of work to continuously assess findings of studies undertaken by the clinical community over many years, as well as considering the feedback from all sources in that time.
“What we have seen, and continue to see, is that evidence supports and the greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK for treatment of the distressing conditions of incontinence and organ prolapse in appropriate circumstances.
“We encourage anyone who suspects they have had a complication after having a mesh device implanted to discuss this with their clinician and report to us via the Yellow Card scheme regardless of how long ago the implant was inserted.”
Patient Kate Langley told the BBC that a surgeon who examined her “could see the [mesh] tape had come through my vagina – protruding through.
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/health-product-regulator-receives-1000-complaints-over-vaginal-mesh-implants/
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Hundreds sue NHS over vaginal mesh
Apr 18, 2017 | Medical Plastics News
By Lu Rahman
Over 800 women who have undergone vaginal mesh implants are taking legal action as they say they have been left in pain. Some say they have also been left unable to walk or have sex.
The women are taking action against the NHS and medical device manufacturers which includes Johnson & Johnson – the largest maker of vaginal mesh. According to the BBC its subsidiary Ethicon was “vigorously defending litigation.”
The implants, which are made from polypropylene, are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence following childbirth. However, some have been found to cut into the vagina, causing discomfort.
The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire spoke to several women who had experienced problems with the mesh.
Kate Langley described how she had had to give up work due to the pain caused by the mesh protruding through her vagina. According to Derbyshire, Langley described the meshes as barbaric and has undergone 53 hospital admissions to try and end the pain.
Derbyshire obtained statistics from Hospital Episodes Statistics. It showed that more than 92,000 women had undergone mesh implant surgery in England. Following a review in Scotland, their use has not been recommended for pelvic organ prolapse.
In 2014, the Independent reported that hundreds of women in Scotland were preparing to launch legal action against the makers of vaginal mesh implants.
Last year an allegation was made against Boston Scientific that it had used polypropylene from an area of China known for its use of counterfeit materials and that it had been used in mesh implants used in Scotland.
According to Aberdeen’s Evening Express, Boston Scientific said: “These allegations are simply not true. We stand by our products, our testing and verification of the Marlex used in our products, and we continue to reject any allegations that this resin is counterfeit or adulterated.
“We are working on a number of fronts to ensure the public and the medical communities have accurate information. We are deeply committed to patient safety.”
In 2016 Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay over $120million in relation to 2,000-3,000 US legal cases brought by women who claimed to have suffered organ damage due to vaginal mesh.
In the same year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reclassified surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) from a moderate-risk device (class ll) to a high-risk one (class lll) and gave manufacturers 30 months to prove that their products are safe and effective, the agency announced.
http://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/news/hundreds-sue-nhs-over-vaginal-mesh-implants/
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Apr 18, 2017 | The Daily Mail
By Alexandra Thompson
· Patient Claire Cooper says her husband has been forced to become her carer
· Kate Langley has been admitted to hospital 53 times to try and relieve the pain
· An expert claims the devices are made available without proper testing
· The implants are meant for incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse after birth
· Over 92,000 had the devices fitted from April 2007 to March 2015 in England
Over 800 women are suing the NHS and device manufacturers after being left in permanent pain thanks to their vaginal mesh implants.Certain implants have cut into women's vaginas, causing discomfort so severe that one sufferer was nearly driven to suicide.
Others have been left unable to walk, work or have sex.
The implants are intended to treat incontinence after childbirth and pelvic organ prolapse, which occurs when the bladder pushes against the vagina's walls.
Between April 2007 and March 2015, over 92,000 women had vaginal mesh implants fitted in England. Of which, around one in 11 have experienced problems, according to NHS data from the Hospital Episodes Statistics.
The protruding implants have also injured women's partners during sex.
Claire Cooper first experienced pain three years after her implant was fitted, the BBC reported.
Doctors diagnosed the source of discomfort as her womb, which was removed when she was 39.
When the pain continued, a GP even accused her of imagining it.
Ms Cooper's pain was so severe she even planned to commit suicide, but chose to live for the sake of her children.
Her constant pain has forced her husband to become her carer.
She said: 'We haven't had sex for four-and-a-half years. This stuff breaks up marriages.
'I wouldn't at all be surprised if there are mesh-injured women that have taken their own lives and didn't know what the problem was.
'I want the procedure banned, I want the material banned.'
Kate Langley has been admitted to hospital 53 times to try and relieve the pain.
Yet, the mesh is too close to her nerve to be completely removed, leaving her with nerve damage.
Ms Langley was forced to give up her childminder business because the pain left her unable to look after the children.
Consultant urogynaecologist Dr Sohier Elneil has treated patients who have been immobilised by the pain.
She said: 'They become so incapacitated that many of them are either walking by crutches or sitting in wheelchairs and, perhaps more dramatically so, they become unable to look after their families.'
Many of the women fitted with the device claim they were never told of its potential dangers.
Around 100 types of vaginal mesh implants are available in the UK.
No model has been withdrawn to date.
The implants are made of a type of plastic commonly used in packaging and are manufactured by many different companies, including Johnson & Johnson.
A leaked email from Johnson & Johnson suggests it was aware of problems with one of its implants back in 2004.
The email said the company needed to start a 'major damage control offensive' because 'the competition will have a field day'.
The manufacturer claims highlighting this email in isolation is 'extremely misleading'.
According to Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence based medicine, University of Oxford, manufacturers are simply required to demonstrate their implant is similar to an existing one on the market before it is made available on the NHS.
Yet, the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency maintains vaginal mesh implants are safe and effective for the majority of women.
The meshes are prescribed on the NHS throughout the UK, although a recent Scottish review said they should not be routinely used for pelvic organ prolapse.
If the women are successful in their legal case, the NHS compensation payout could be tens of millions of pounds.
Thousands of women have successfully sued manufacturers in the US, receiving payouts that total several billion dollars.
Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary, Ethicon, said it was 'vigorously defending litigation,' claiming it acted appropriately in the development of these devices, which have helped millions of women.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4420552/Women-suing-NHS-vaginal-mesh-implants.html -
Apr 19, 2017 | Mirror
By Abigail O'leary
Women said 'this stuff breaks up marriages' as another considered taking her own life when the pain became so excruciating her husband was forced to become her full-time carer
Hundreds of woman are planning on suing the NHS after vaginal mesh implants have made their lives a misery.
The mesh is fitted to treat pelvic organ prolapse post-childbirth and is aimed at improving a woman's bladder control.
But hundreds of woman have been left in crippling agony after the mesh wires have cut right through the walls of their vagina.
Made from polypropylene, the same material as a plastic drinks bottle, the women have reported the mesh slowly making its way to the outside of the vagina wall - cutting through them "like cheese wire".
One woman described it as "barbaric" and many have reportedly been left unable to walk or enjoy sex.
Kate Langley, was forced to stop working as a childminder when the pain became unbearable, according to the Victoria Derbyshire programme.
Speaking about a surgeon's examination of her fitted mesh wire, she said he "could see the tape had come through my vagina - protruding through.
"The mesh had cut its way through - like a cheese wire."
Kate had 53 hospital admissions in a desperate attempt to end the "barbaric" pain.
But her mesh implant is too close to a nerve to be fully removed.
Other woman have said their partners had even been injured by the protruding mesh while having sex.
One woman's pain became so severe, she was driven to thoughts of suicide when doctors told her she was imagining the pain.
Claire Cooper was told the source of her pain was her womb, before doctors eventually said her symptoms were in her head.
Forced to live with the excruciating pain, Claire "mapped out" how she would take her own life.
Her mesh implant has also affected her marriage, and claimed her husband was forced to become her carer.
Claire said: "We haven't had sex for four-and-a-half years. This stuff breaks up marriages.
"I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are mesh injured women that have taken their own lives and didn't know what the problem was.
"I want the procedure banned. I want the material banned."
Consultant urogynaecologist Dr Sohier Elneil said she sees patients in the UK who have been left facing severe pain and unable to walk.
"The typical type of patient I see is a patient who is incapacitated by severe pain of a chronic nature. Often they are on high-dose medication, including opiates.
"They become so incapacitated that many of them are either walking by crutches or sitting in wheelchairs and perhaps more dramatically so, they become unable to look after their families."
Currently in the UK, there are around 100 types of vaginal mesh implants.
The UK regulatory body MHRA said it "sympathises" with the women affected.
MHRA say for the majority of women, the use of vaginal mesh implants is safe and effective.
An MHRA spokesman said it was "committed to help address the serious concerns raised by some patients".
It added: "The greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK."
Ethicon said "these devices have helped millions of women".
It said it had "acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of its pelvic mesh products".
According to one expert, Professor Carl Heneghan, manufacturers have to provide little evidence before their product is clinically approved and made available on the NHS.
"The regulatory body... doesn't even look at the device," he explained.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/hundreds-women-sue-nhs-over-10246295
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Apr 18, 2017 | RT
Over 800 women are taking the makers of a vaginal mesh implant and the National Health Service (NHS) to court after the contraption left them with chronic pain, as well as being unable to walk or have sex.The implants, which are used to treat incontinence and pelvic prolapse, lifting the organ and anchoring it back in place, are made of polypropylene, a plastic substance also used in water bottles and food containers.
The mesh, which is often used as a recovery procedure for childbirth incontinence, can however pierce through the vagina, causing serious distress.
The BBC Victoria Derbyshire show found that several women had to give up their jobs due to the discomfort and pain caused by the malfunctioning implants. Other women recounted how the cuts had been so deep their partners injured themselves during sex.
Childminder Kate Langley told the program that the first surgeon to examine her after she complained “could see the [mesh] tape had come through my vagina – protruding through.
“The mesh had cut its way through – like cheese-wire,” she added.
She was admitted to the hospital 53 times due to the implant and was left with permanent nerve damage.
“We haven’t had sex for four-and-a-half years. This stuff breaks up marriages,” said another victim, Claire Cooper.
“I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there are mesh-injured women that have taken their own lives and didn’t know what the problem was. I want the procedure banned, I want the material banned.”
The 39 year-old said she considered suicide but decided against it for her children. Her partner is now her “carer.”
Over 92,000 women in Britain had the vaginal mesh built in between April 2007 and March 2015. One in 11 women experienced problems with the implant, data found by the BBC program revealed.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it “sympathises” with the women affected, but makers insist the procedure “helped millions.”
“The greater proportion of the clinical community and patients support the use of these devices in the UK,” an MHRA spokesperson said.
https://www.rt.com/uk/385195-vaginal-mesh-legal-action/
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Law That Gives State a Big Bite of Punitives Is Seldom Used
Apr 19, 2017 | Daily Report
By Greg Land
Enacted as part of the Georgia Tort Reform Act of 1987, the state's punitive damages statute requires, among other things, that 75 percent of any punitive damage award in a product liability suit be turned over to the state.
Intended to ensure that such damages serve as a "punishment" for an offending defendant rather than an additional reward for plaintiffs, the law has been anything but a cash cow for Georgia's coffers. Instead it's acted as an incentive for parties to settle posttrial rather than hand over hefty awards to the state.
In fact, the statute, which could be triggered by the recent $20.5 million verdict in a Houston County medical product liability case, has only come into play once within the last 10 years, according to the office of Attorney General Chris Carr.
In a case decided in January, Senior Assistant Attorney General Julie Adams successfully defended the law's constitutionality in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"The office of the attorney general collected $782,140.24, the full 75 percent of punitive damages awarded in that case, less the costs of litigation and attorney's fees, which went into the State Treasury," said AG spokeswoman Katie McCreary via email.
That case, Cisson v. C.R. Bard Inc. No 15-1102, was one of thousands of cases stemming from the use of transvaginal mesh medical devices used to treat pelvic disorders in women.
The prevailing plaintiff, Donna Cisson, was awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages.
The verdict was appealed by both sides, with Cisson arguing that the provision requiring her to relinquish 75 percent of the punitive damages to the state amounted to an unconstitutional taking.
"Cisson contends that she has a vested property interest in the entire punitive damages award, but, in the scant briefing she has provided to this Court on the issue, she has failed to articulate a viable theory in support of that contention," said the Jan. 14 opinion.
Asked whether the state ever engaged in settlement negotiations regarding such damages, McCreary replied in the negative.
"Once punitive damages are awarded in a product liability case, the state becomes a judgment creditor in the case and as such it is the state's position that we are entitled to 75 percent of the punitive damage award."
"In the event the parties do engage in post-judgment settlement discussions," she said, "it is the state's position that the punitive damage award cannot be reduced or modified in any way via a settlement without the express consent of the state. We have not engaged in any settlement negotiations in the past."
McCreary said the state seldom has occasion to pursue such judgments through legal action.
"The state certainly has the ability [to do so], for example Cisson v. Bard," she said. "But, other than that instance, we have not had to exercise that ability in the last decade."
Product liability lawyers said the statute serves as encouragement for both sides to come to the post-verdict settlement table.
"I'd say it provides the parties with an incentive to resolve their differences rather than going to final judgment," said Stone Law Group partner Bill Stone, whose practice includes product liability work.
"What generally happens is that, once a judgment is entered, an appeal is filed and the parties end up reaching a settlement and the judgment is vacated."
Stone said the plaintiffs counsel in such cases have no interest in seeing a hefty chunk of a verdict handed to the state, and the defense is understandably loath to have a record of punitive damages, both for public relations' sake and because it would have to acknowledge that record the next time it's sued.
"The settlement agreement would generally be that the defense denies that any punitive damage claims were justified and that any damages were paid on a disputed claim and that the defense admits no liability," he said.
Under the law, a product liability defendant can only be ordered to pay punitive damages once, said Stone, "but they want that judgment vacated, because if they get hit with punitives one time, they're never going to be able to defend that product again."
Stone also noted that plaintiffs have an additional incentive to settle instead of insisting on seeking one-quarter of a punitive damage claim.
"Punitive damages are taxable, whereas bodily injury and personal injury awards are not," he said.
"By the time you start talking the federal and state tax bites, what the plaintiff gets is something on the order of 10 percent. Most of them will say it's just not worth it."
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/id=1202783931405/Law-That-Gives-State-a-Big-Bite-of-Punitives-Is-Seldom-Used?mcode=0&curindex=0&curpage=2
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Law Firms Remaining in TVM Litigation
Apr 18, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
Mesh Medical Device News Desk, April 18, 2017 ~ Many of the large Mass Tort law firms are no longer taking transvaginal mesh cases (TVM).
While many law firms are pursuing the coated hernia mesh cases, fewer are remaining in transvaginal mesh litigation.
Litigated since the early 2000’s, TVM has gone through many changes, from forming a mass tort and MDL in Charleston, WV to a few bellwether cases to test legal theories. Even fewer settlements have been offered.
To date, four cases that have gone through trial have settled after exhausting the appeals process. See the MND story here.
Though the following list is not complete, it represents the law firms that remain in transvaginal mesh litigation.
Please let us know if your firm is continuing to take these cases.
Many are not but continue to work to settle the cases they have.
WHICH LAW FIRMS REMAIN IN TVM LITIGATION?
Many of the law firms that form the executive committees in the multidistrict litigation are moving away from transvaginal mesh litigation.
Some of the few left include:
Adam Slater – Mazie Slater, Katz & Freeman, Roseland, NJ
http://mskf.net/
Trying Coloplast, Ethicon, Boston ScientificSheila Bossier- Bossier & Associates, Jackson, Mississippi
http://profiles.superlawyers.com/mississippi/jackson/lawyer/sheila-m-bossier/bcce2f88-7ff9-483b-9eef-d4e390262b64.htmlSteve, Amber Mostyn
Steve & Amber Mostyn – Mostyn Law Firm, Houston, TX
https://mostynlaw.com/
Ethicon, Boston Scientific, Bard, Cook, CalderaBryan Aylstock – Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, Pensacola, FL
http://www.awkolaw.com/Joe Saunders – Saunders & Walker, Pinellas Park, FL
http://www.saunderslawyers.com/
Taking AMS, Boston Scientific and C.R. BardKline Specter – Philadelphia, PA
http://www.klinespecter.com/Aylstock is focusing on Ethicon; Mostyn on Boston Scientific, Bard, Ethicon, Cook and Caldera; Saunders is taking AMS, Boston Scientific and Bard cases.
Firms that are no longer taking TVM cases are Blasingame Burch Garrard Ashley; Matthews & Associates, and Fleming, Nolen & Jez, among others.
http://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/law-firms-remaining-tvm-litigation/
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