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Ethicon Media Monitoring 5/30/2018
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Martinez v Boston Scientific Pelvic Mesh Trial Starts Today!
May 29, 2018 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
By Jane Akre
While product liability trials against mesh manufacturers are few and far between, the latest action, Martinez v. Boston Scientific, begins today in Middlesex Co. Massachusetts. -
A doctor removed her ovaries because they were ‘in the way.’ Her family says it led to her death.
May 29, 2018 | Washington Post
By Marwa Eltagouri
The removal of her ovaries never came up during her surgery consultations...Lucinda Methuen-Campbell was considering treatment for a bowel disorder at the Spire Hospital in Bristol, England, in 2016. A surgeon there, Anthony Dixon, had gained international recognition for fixing patients’ bowel problems with vaginal mesh implants -
Woman killed herself after ovaries removed without consent
May 29, 2018 | BBC
A woman whose ovaries were removed without her consent during an operation to mend a bowel disorder killed herself because of the pain, an inquest has heard. -
Woman killed herself after surgeon removed her ovaries during operation because ‘they were getting in the way’, inquest hears
May 29, 2018 | The Telegraph
By Francesca Marshall
A woman treated by one of Britain's best known surgeons killed herself after the doctor, who is under investigation by the NHS, removed her ovaries during an operation because "they were getting in the way". -
Mother, 58, hanged herself after top bowel surgeon removed her ovaries during surgery without telling her ‘because they were in the way’
May 29, 2018 | Daily Mail
By Dianne Apen-Sadler
A mother killed herself after a doctor removed her ovaries without her knowing during an operation, an inquest heard. -
Mum, 58, killed herself after doctor removed her ovaries ‘without her knowing because they were in the way’
May 29, 2018 | The Sun
By Holly Christodoulou
A MUM killed herself after a doctor removed her ovaries "without her knowing", an inquest heard today. -
Private equity funds deploy new investment strategy: financing lawsuits
May 30, 2018 | San Antonio Express News
By L.M. Sixel,
A woman whose ovaries were removed without her consent during an operation to mend a bowel disorder killed herself because of the pain, an inquest has heard.
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Martinez v Boston Scientific Pelvic Mesh Trial Starts Today!
May 29, 2018 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk
By Jane Akre
While product liability trials against mesh manufacturers are few and far between, the latest action, Martinez v. Boston Scientific, begins today in Middlesex Co. Massachusetts.
The venue is correct – Boston Scientific, one of the top pelvic and hernia mesh manufacturers is headquartered in Marlborough, Mass. And Boston Scientific still stands behind its polypropylene (PP) mesh products, even though one of those that is the focus on this defective product claim, the Pinnacle, has quietly been taken off the market.
But that has done nothing to stop the march forward of yet another product liability trial naming Boston Scientific and its Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kit and the Obtryx Midurethral Sling to treat incontinence which starts today.
The action is filed by Ana and Jose Martinez of Nevada, who filed their case in August of 2012. Motley Rice filed the case, but Kila Baldwin and Kline Specter will be presenting the case in the Superior Court of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Case No. 11-3750M
In December 22, 2010, Ms. Martinez was implanted with the meshes at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas by Dr. Kord Strebel, MD.
Since then, she has suffered pain and suffering, UTI’s a return of prolapse and incontinence, mesh erosion, dyspareunia (painful sex). The cost of her doctors, rehabilitation, therapy, clinic expenses as well as lost earnings and an impairment in her enjoyment of life is estimated to be at least $6 million in actual damages. Punitive damages should be added to that, says her complaint here (Martinez Filed Complaint).
Product liability lawsuits of this nature take approximately three weeks to be heard.
Kline Specter of Philadelphia has two more cases lined up this summer – Perigo v Ethicon et al, July 30th in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia and Sutphin v. Ethicon et al, August 14th, to be heard in the federal court in Charleston, West Virginia.
Four years ago, a jury in West Virginia delivered an $18.5 million verdict in favor of four women implanted with the Obtryx Midurethral Sling to treat incontinence. The mesh was found to be defectively designed.
In February of this year, Boston Scientific lost its latest effort to overturn that verdict.
At the same time in a Miami federal courtroom, four women implanted with the Pinnacle, were awarded collectively $26.7 million in November 13, 2014.
The Obtryx II remains on the market while the Pinnacle was removed in May 2011. The FDA issued an IMMEDIATE RECALL announcing a Class 2 recall for the Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kit because, “the device may exhibit low tensile strength between the needle and suture and lead to needle detachment during mesh leg placement.”
Dr. Dennis Miller, MD, who allegedly invented the Pinnacle and appeared on the stand via videotape, stood by this product and admitted he was a preceptor or consultant for Boston Scientific and had enjoyed receiving substantial payment from that relationship.
https://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/martinez-v-boston-scientific-trial-starts-today/
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A doctor removed her ovaries because they were ‘in the way.’ Her family says it led to her death.
May 29, 2018 | Washington Post
By Marwa Eltagouri
The removal of her ovaries never came up during her surgery consultations.
Lucinda Methuen-Campbell was considering treatment for a bowel disorder at the Spire Hospital in Bristol, England, in 2016. A surgeon there, Anthony Dixon, had gained international recognition for fixing patients’ bowel problems with vaginal mesh implants. Methuen-Campbell went ahead with the surgery — and was shocked to learn afterward that Dixon had removed her ovaries.
She asked him why.
“He said he thought he’d done me a favor. And he said, ‘I thought you know, a woman of your age wouldn’t really need her ovaries,’ ” Methuen-Campbell told the BBC.
“I said, ‘Why did you remove them?’ and he just said, ‘They were in the way,’ ” she said. “My life is absolutely ruined.”
Things got worse. The implant had left her in severe pain, which, as time passed, grew more agonizing.
Methuen-Campbell was recently found dead, having hanged herself in her Swansea attic, the BBC reported. Swansea assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd concluded her death was a suicide, saying the operation “was unsuccessful and made her pain worse and it affected her mental health.” She was 58.
“I’m satisfied without doubt that she intended to take her own life,” Gruffydd said during an inquest into Methuen-Campbell’s death. “The pain she was in led to her taking her own life.”
Methuen-Campbell’s former partner, Philip Chatfield, said that Methuen-Campbell felt that there “didn’t seem to be a way out of the pain.”
“The pain continued to get worse and nobody seemed able to solve the problem,” Chatfield said during the hearing, according to the BBC.
Methuen-Campbell left her 19-year-old son, Angus, a note that read, “I’m sorry Angus, I love you, best son ever.”
Her son, after the hearing, said his mother was “in a great deal of pain after the operations and she was very upset that her ovaries had been removed,” according to the BBC.
Dixon, the surgeon, has been suspended from two hospitals in Bristol and is being investigated by Britain’s National Health Service and the General Medical Council for his mesh surgeries. Surgical mesh implants are typically used to treat conditions such as pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women, according to the FDA. Those conditions can sometimes occur after childbirth.
The General Medical Council has also barred Dixon from performing another type of surgery, the STARR procedure — which stands for stapled transanal resection of the rectum — until 2018, according to the Telegraph. The procedure is used to treat obstructed defecation syndrome.
Dixon has previously said that while operations can go wrong, his are always done in good faith, the Telegraph reported. He has also previously said that the majority of his operations have been successful.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/29/a-doctor-removed-her-ovaries-because-they-were-in-the-way-her-family-says-it-led-to-her-death/?utm_term=.d6aa06b4046d
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Woman killed herself after ovaries removed without consent
May 29, 2018 | BBC
A woman whose ovaries were removed without her consent during an operation to mend a bowel disorder killed herself because of the pain, an inquest has heard.
Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, 58, from Swansea, was told later by a surgeon her ovaries were "in the way" during the surgery at Bristol.
She had been in pain for years but the surgery made it worse, a coroner heard.
Assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd recorded a conclusion of suicide.
Ms Methuen-Campbell had surgery at the private Spire hospital in 2016 performed by Tony Dixon, who had built up an international reputation for using mesh to fix bowel problems.
However he is now suspended from two hospitals in Bristol and under investigation by the NHS and the General Medical Council over the mesh procedures.
Ms Methuen-Campbell later told her ex-partner there "didn't seem to be a way out of the pain".
The inquest heard Ms Methuen-Campbell hanged herself in her attic.
Mrs Methuen-Campbell's ex-partner Philip Chatfield said: "The pain continued to get worse and nobody seemed able to solve the problem.
"Mr Dixon performed the operation in 2016 with the mesh but it was unsuccessful and caused her to be in agony.
"She had a follow-up operation which made things even worse."
She left a note for her 19-year-old son that said: "I'm sorry Angus, I love you, best son ever."
Mr Gruffydd said: "The operation on Mrs Methuen-Campbell was unsuccessful and made her pain worse and it affected her mental health."
Recording a suicide conclusion he said: "I'm satisfied without doubt that she intended to take her own life. The pain she was in led to her taking her own life."
Angus said after the inquest: "She was in a great deal of pain after the operations and she was very upset that her ovaries had been removed."
North Bristol NHS Trust medical director Dr Chris Burton said: "The surgeon under review is not currently providing any clinical services to patients at our hospital.
"It is very important that we investigate this matter fully and it would be inappropriate for us to comment on specific details while our investigations are ongoing."
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-44286690
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May 29, 2018 | The Telegraph
By Francesca Marshall
A woman treated by one of Britain's best known surgeons killed herself after the doctor, who is under investigation by the NHS, removed her ovaries during an operation because "they were getting in the way".
Anthony Dixon, who built up an international reputation for using mesh to fix bowel problems, saw Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, 58, at a private hospital in 2016 regarding a bowel disorder.
Dr Dixon, who has been suspended from two hospitals in Bristol, allegedly told Mrs Methuen-Campbell that he removed her ovaries during the surgery "because they were in the way".
Mrs Methuen-Campbell had a vaginal mesh implant inserted to help with a bowel disorder but it left her in agony.
She was later found hanged in her attic having told her ex partner: "There didn't seem to be a way out of the pain."
Mrs Methuen-Campbell's ex-partner Philip Chatfield, a sculptor, said: "The pain continued to get worse and nobody seemed able to solve the problem.
"Mr Dixon performed the operation in 2016 with the mesh but it was unsuccessful and caused her to be in agony.
"She had a follow-up operation which made things even worse."
The couple first met when Mrs Methuen-Campbell posed as a model for him. The couple later went on to have a son, Angus, 19.
In an interview with the BBC after the operation in 2016, Mrs Methuen-Campbell claimed she had not consented to her ovaries being removed during consultations at The Spire Hospital in Bristol.
She said that the removal was never mentioned before the surgery, and if it had she would have been "vaguely prepared".
She said at the time: "He said he thought he'd done me a favour. And he said: 'I thought you know, a woman of your age wouldn't really need her ovaries.'
"I said 'Why did you remove them?' and he just said 'They were in the way'."
"My life is absolutely ruined but you know, I can't say that it's Mr Dixon's ruined my life."
In January this year, Angus called his father after discovering the attic ladder was down and the hatch open.
Mr Chatfield found his ex-partner hanged in the attic of her home in the village of Three Crosses, near Swansea.
Nearby was a message from Mrs Methuen-Campbell to her son which read: "I'm sorry Angus, I love you, best son ever".
Swansea assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd said: "The operation on Mrs Methuen-Campbell was unsuccessful and made her pain worse and it affected her mental health."
Recording a suicide conclusion he said he was satisfied that she intended to take her own life, adding: “The pain she was in led to her taking her own life."
Speaking after the inquest her son said: "She was in a great deal of pain after the operations and she was very upset that her ovaries had been removed."
Mr Dixon built up an international reputation for using mesh rectopexy to fix bowel problems, often caused by childbirth, but is currently suspended from performing this surgery at two hospitals in Bristol.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has also stopped him from performing another form of corrective surgery, known as a Starr procedure (stapled transanal resection of the rectum), until November 2018.
The NHS has now also referred him to the GMC over mesh procedures.
North Bristol NHS Trust is investigating the consultant, who worked at Southmead Hospital and at the private Spire Hospital in Bristol.
Mr Dixon has previously said all operations can have problems but his are done in good faith and the majority are successful.
In recent years vagininal mesh implants have become controversial as it was found a number of women were reporting negative side effects.
The permanent implants are medical devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence in women, conditions that can commonly occur after childbirth.
Some women have reported severe and constant abdominal and vaginal pain following the surgery.
Other women have experienced infections and bleeding, while many have said their original incontinence symptoms have not been improved by the surgery.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/29/woman-killed-surgeon-removed-ovaries-operation-getting-way-inquest/
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May 29, 2018 | Daily Mail
By Dianne Apen-Sadler
A mother killed herself after a doctor removed her ovaries without her knowing during an operation, an inquest heard.
Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, from the village of Three Crosses, near Swansea, went in for surgery on a bowel disorder - but came out without her ovaries.
An inquest heard the surgeon told her later that her ovaries were taken out 'because they were in the way.'
Mrs Methuen-Campbell chose surgery at a private hospital performed by pioneering surgeon Tony Dixon in September 2016 after suffering years of pain.
She had a vaginal mesh inserted to help with the bowel disorder but it left her in agony.
The 58-year-old was later found hanged in her attic telling her ex-partner: 'There didn't seem to be a way out of the pain.'
Mr Dixon has built up an international reputation for using mesh to fix bowel problems which are often linked to childbirth - but is currently suspended from two hospitals in Bristol.
He is under investigation by the NHS which has referred him to the General Medical Council over the mesh procedures.
Mrs Methuen-Campbell's ex-partner Philip Chatfield, a sculptor, said: 'The pain continued to get worse and nobody seemed able to solve the problem.RELATED ARTICLES
'Mr Dixon performed the operation in 2016 with the mesh but it was unsuccessful and caused her to be in agony.
'She had a follow-up operation which made things even worse.'
Mr Chatfield said that he had first met Mrs Methuen-Campbell when she was a English graduate and posed as a model for him.
The inquest heard their 19-year-old Angus called his father when he saw the attic ladder was down with the hatch open in January this year.
Mr Chatfield found his ex-partner hanged in the attic of her home.
Nearby was a message from Mrs Methuen-Campbell to her son saying: 'I’m sorry Angus, I love you, best son ever.'
Swansea assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd said: 'The operation on Mrs Methuen-Campbell was unsuccessful and made her pain worse and it affected her mental health.'
Recording a suicide conclusion he said: 'I'm satisfied without doubt that she intended to take her own life - the pain she was in led to her taking her own life.'
Student Angus said after the inquest: 'She was in a great deal of pain after the operations and she was very upset that her ovaries had been removed.'
In an interview before she died, Mrs Methuen-Campbell said she had not consented to the removal before the operation in 2016.
She said she had lengthy consultations with Mr Dixon before the operation at The Spire Hospital in Bristol.
He told her her problems were complex involving surgery not just on her bowel but also her womb.
She said that the removal was never mentioned before the surgery, and if it had she would have been 'vaguely prepared'.
She said: 'He said he thought he'd done me a favour. And he said: "I thought you know, a woman of your age wouldn't really need her ovaries."
'I said "Why did you remove them?" and he just said "They were in the way".
'My life is absolutely ruined but you know, I can’t say that it’s Mr Dixon’s ruined my life.'
Mr Dixon built up an international reputation for using mesh rectopexy to fix bowel problems, often caused by childbirth, but is currently suspended from performing this surgery at two hospitals in Bristol.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has stopped him from performing another form of corrective surgery, known as a Starr procedure (stapled transanal resection of the rectum), until November 2018.
The NHS has now also referred him to the GMC over mesh procedures.
North Bristol NHS Trust is investigating the consultant, who worked at Southmead Hospital and at the private Spire Hospital in Bristol.
Mr Dixon has previously said all operations can have problems but his are done in good faith and the majority are successful.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5781909/Swansea-mother-hanged-surgeon-removed-ovaries-bowel-surgery-without-telling-her.html
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May 29, 2018 | The Sun
By Holly Christodoulou
A MUM killed herself after a doctor removed her ovaries "without her knowing", an inquest heard today.
Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, 58, had gone to hospital for surgery for a bowel disorder but her ovaries were removed "because they were in the way."
She was later found hanged in her attic after telling her ex partner: "There didn't seem to be a way out of the pain."
An inquest in Swansea heard Lucinda had booked in at a private hospital for an op performed by pioneering surgeon Tony Dixon in September 2016 after suffering years of pain.
The top doc uses mesh to fix bowel problems and is currently under investigation by the NHS, which has referred him to the General Medical Council (GMC) over the procedures.
But the operation he performed on Lucinda had been unsuccessful and left her in "agony" so she went for a second procedure which "made things worse".
n an interview with the BBC after the op in 2016, Lucinda claimed she had not consented to her ovaries being removed during consultations at The Spire Hospital in Bristol.
She said that the removal was never mentioned before the surgery, and if it had she would have been "vaguely prepared".
Lucinda said at the time: "He said he thought he'd done me a favour. And he said: 'I thought you know, a woman of your age wouldn't really need her ovaries.'
"I said 'Why did you remove them?' and he just said 'They were in the way'."
"My life is absolutely ruined but you know, I can't say that it's Mr Dixon's ruined my life."
In January this year, Lucinda's 19-year-old son Angus called his dad and Lucinda's ex-partner Philip Chatfield after discovering the attic ladder was down and the hatch open.
Mr Chatfield then found Lucinda hanged in the attic of her home in Three Crosses, near Swansea.
Nearby was a message from the mum to her son saying: "I'm sorry Angus, I love you, best son ever".
Recording a verdict of suicide, Aled Gruffydd said: "The operation on Mrs Methuen-Campbell was unsuccessful and made her pain worse and it affected her mental health."
He continued: "I'm satisfied without doubt that she intended to take her own life - the pain she was in led to her taking her own life."
"She left a note for her son apologising to him."
Mr Dixon built up an international reputation for using mesh rectopexy to fix bowel problems, often caused by childbirth, but is currently suspended from performing this surgery at two hospitals in Bristol.
The GMC has stopped him from performing another form of corrective surgery - a Starr procedure (stapled transanal resection of the rectum) - until November 2018.
The NHS has now also referred him to the GMC over mesh procedures.
North Bristol NHS Trust is investigating the consultant, who worked at Southmead Hospital and at the private Spire Hospital in Bristol.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6400838/mum-killed-herself-after-doctor-tony-dixon-removed-ovaries/
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Private equity funds deploy new investment strategy: financing lawsuits
May 30, 2018 | San Antonio Express News
By L.M. Sixel,
Private equity and hedge funds have found a new way to get richer: Financing lawsuits in exchange for a cut of the winnings.
The investment funds, which have raised billions of dollars to funnel into promising cases, have become a rich source of cash for lawyers to acquire cases, buy advertising, recruit clients and underwrite litigation expenses. If the lawyers win, private equity backers can pocket up to six times their initial investments, amounting to as much as 50 percent of a settlement or trial verdict.
This large and growing pool of money has opened the door for lawyers to gamble on big cases against big companies involving thousands of victims and millions of dollars in damages, but it also raises questions of whether lawyers will act in the best interest of clients or their financiers, who might prefer a quick settlement over a lengthy trial. In addition, the cuts taken by private equity and hedge funds can be so high that clients who win big awards on paper may end up with as little as 10 cents on dollar, legal experts say.
“It’s like the white collar version of pay-day loans,” said Houston lawyer John Zavitsanos.
Litigation finance has been around for more than a decade, but only in recent years has it taken off as private equity and hedge funds seek better returns beyond stock, bond and commodity markets, according to legal and finance specialists. By some estimates, more than one-third of U.S. law firms used litigation financing in 2017, up from 7 percent four years earlier, while private equity and hedge fund investments in lawsuits have surged to about $30 billion from $1 billion in 2011.
Burford Capital, a publicly traded litigation funder listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides a window into this mostly private world. Burford, like most litigation financiers, raises the money it plows into lawsuits from institutional investors such as pension funds and university endowments. In a recent presentation to investors, Burford estimated that it earned a 37 percent return in 2017 — compared about 22 percent for the S&P 500 stock index — and more than tripled its investments in lawsuits to $1.3 billion from $378 million.
Another publicly traded litigation finance firm, Bentham IMF of Australia, opened an office in Houston last year, just days after the firm announced it raised $200 million to fund lawsuits, with most of the money coming from a large, but unidentified hedge fund. At the time, Bentham reported its investments in U.S. lawsuits returned an average of 83 percent.
Bentham’s terms vary from case to case, but lawyers who win typically pay up to three times the original investment to Bentham, plus a percentage of the award or settlement. “We share in the recovery” of damages, said Eric Chenoweth, investment manager for Bentham in Houston.
Bentham does not require lawyers who lose cases to repay the money, so the firm is choosy about which cases it funds, said Chenoweth, a long-time Houston lawyer who uses his knowledge of judges, courts and lawyers to evaluate lawsuit risk. Ninety-five percent of the firms seeking funding from Bentham are rejected, he said.
Legalist, a San Francisco litigation finance firm uses a computer algorithm to predict the likelihood of winning by weighing the type of claim, outcome of similar cases, previous rulings by the judge and the financial strength of the defendant. The company, which more than $10 million in seed capital last year, is backing a Boston-area ice cream sandwich maker suing one of its suppliers over allegations of inferior ice cream.
Software engineers make up half the staff at Legalist, said CEO Eva Shang, who started her company after receiving a $100,000 fellowship from the foundation started by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal who footed the bill for Hulk Hogan’s sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media.
Investment funds solve cash flow problems for trial lawyers, who often need lots of money upfront to pursue cases. Some lawyers use private equity and hedge fund money to cover the cost of bringing complex cases such as intellectual property or anti-trust disputes that can require high-priced experts, deep research and extensive travel.
Lawyers who represent consumers hurt by car wrecks and prescription drugs often use private equity money to buy television ads to recruit potential clients, operating call centers to handle the inquiries. One of the nation’s biggest legal advertisers is the Pulaski Law Firm of Houston —owner of the toll free number 1-800-BAD-DRUG —which spent $25 million in 2016 running 98,000 television ads, according to X Ante, a firm that forecasts litigation risk.
Pulaski declined to comment.
A 2015 lawsuit brought by Amir Shenaq, the former chief business development officer of the Houston law firm AkinMears, sheds some light on the workings of litigation financing. Shenaq, a former Wells Fargo banker hired to raise the capital the firm needed to increase its revenues, sued when he didn’t get the commissions he said he was promised.
AkinMears built its business through television ads that alerted viewers to health problems related to medical devices, prescription drugs and occupational diseases, such as asbestos-related cancer, and the possibility they could collect from the companies responsible. The firm acted as a kind of legal broker, operating a phone bank to sign up clients, bundling the claims and sending them to other lawyers to handle, according to the lawsuit.
AkinMears signed up tens of thousands of clients, charging each a 40 percent contingency fee — meaning it was only collected if the clients won verdicts or settlements. The fee was divided with the lawyers contracted to handle the cases.
But AkinMears wanted to grow faster and came up with a plan to acquire easy-to-settle medical device cases from other lawyers, according to Shenaq’s lawsuit. Gerchen Keller Capital, a Chicago litigation finance firm since acquired by Burford Capital — agreed to provide nearly $100 million to AkinMears.
About $46 million went to buy 14,000 transvaginal mesh cases and another 900 non-mesh cases from a group of four law firms — a deal that AkinMears estimated could earn as much as $200 million in legal fees, according to court documents.
Thousands of women received mesh implants to treat pelvic conditions including urinary incontinence, and sued the manufacturers after suffering from infections, bleeding and organ damage. Several won multi-million dollar verdicts, which drove mesh makers to settle thousands of additional claims for millions of dollars. AkinMears, according to court documents, estimated that each settlement of a transvaginal mesh case would bring $14,000 to $16,000 in legal fees.
Shenaq’s lawsuit was settled two years ago, but terms were not disclosed. AkinMears’s lawyer, Allan Huddleston Neighbors IV, declined to comment. Shenaq also declined to comment.
Litigation finance first came into the public eye about three years ago in a case against Chevron Corp. which was sued in federal court in California after a natural gas rig exploded off the coast of Nigeria. Chevron discovered the financial backer of the case brought by Nigerians hurt in the blast was Therium Capital Management, a litigation investment firm based in the Channel Islands off the coast of France.
Therium invested $1.5 million into the case, under the terms that it would be paid $9 million, or six times what it initially invested, plus 2 percent of the total recovery if the lawsuit succeeded, according to court records. Therium’s contract with the Nigerians’ lawyers also prohibited them from spending money on additional lawyers, forensic accountants or other experts without the written permission of the investment firm, raising questions of whether the lawyers were representing the interests of their clients or their financial backer.
Therium did not respond to a request for comment.
In Texas, lawyers have to get clients’ consent before they can share contingency fees with other lawyers. But lawyers don’t have to tell clients if they bring outside investors aboard to fund their case, a fine line that leaves some lawyers squeamish.
Mike Doyle, a Houston personal injury lawyer, said he considered doing a deal with a private equity fund, but the financing would have cost him 20 to 25 percent a year. In the end, he didn’t do it, worried that the financial pressures would influence the decisions he needed to make in the best interest of his clients.
“I didn’t think the juice was worth the squeeze,” he said.
https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/Private-equity-funds-deploy-new-investment-12951964.php
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