Transvaginal Mesh Verdicts and Settlements Against Manufacturers
During the past decade, juries have returned numerous verdicts against transvaginal mesh manufacturers. Plaintiffs have received millions of dollars in compensation for medical bills, injuries and emotional damage after fighting their cases in court. Transvaginal mesh makers have settled thousands of legal claims for roughly $8 billion.
The first transvaginal mesh lawsuits went to trial in 2012 and 2013. Since then, multiple transvaginal mesh producers have lost multimillion-dollar lawsuits. Many companies have agreed to large legal settlements to avoid facing plaintiffs in courtrooms, but others have delayed proceedings and settlements.
Juries have sided with numerous plaintiffs who accused companies of designing defective products, fraudulently promoting the safety of the devices and failing to warn of potential complications. Despite multiple settlements, thousands of lawsuits are still pending in federal and state courts. It’s unclear whether companies will try to resolve remaining claims or fight them.
“(Settlements are) hard to predict,” lawyer Laura Yaeger told Drugwatch. “It depends on a number of factors, including the pace of litigation, the type of cases – stress urinary incontinence (SUI) versus pelvic organ prolapse – and the strategy the defense takes.”
C.R. Bard was the first manufacturer to lose a transvaginal mesh lawsuit. The company withdrew its Avaulta Plus vaginal mesh from the market in July 2012, weeks before losing a $3.6 million verdict to a woman who experienced complications from the company’s device.