Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits Will Begin in 2012

Beginning in November 2012, the first Ethicon Gynecare vaginal mesh lawsuits are scheduled to go to trial before a jury in New Jersey state court. Judge Carol E. Higbee is overseeing the litigation where more than 350 lawsuits over Ethicon Gynecare transvaginal mesh have been centralized for pretrial proceedings. These proceedings involve women who received, and experienced complications from Gynecare Prolift mesh, Gynecare Gynemesh, Gynecare Prolene mesh, Gynecare TVT sling ,or other mesh products manufactured by Ethicon.

In their complaints, the plaintiffs allege that Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon knew that vaginal mesh was unreasonably dangerous when used to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or female stress urinary incontinence (SUI), yet they continued to manufacture and sell them. They allege the companies manufactured a defective product and failed to warn the public about the serious complications associated with vaginal mesh.

These Ethicon Gynecare test cases are known as bellwether trials. A bellwether trial is one that is used to indicate future trends in litigation. These bellwether lawsuits were selected early to help parties determine how juries are likely to respond to evidence similar to what parties in other cases will present. Although these trials are not binding on other trials, they are highly influential to lawyers, and can affect the value of any future Ethicon Gynecare settlement discussions.

In July, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication warning health care providers and patients about the complications associated with vaginal mesh. The FDA also warned that transvaginal repair with mesh may pose more of a risk of complications than traditional non-mesh repair.

If you have suffered complications associated with vaginal mesh, you may be eligible to participate in a lawsuit. Contact an experienced products liability attorney to have your claim reviewed.