Company’s Swedish parent reaches tentative deal in giant New Hampshire mass tort suit
Atrium Medical Corp. in Merrimack has settled litigation over its hernia mesh implants in what may be one the largest mass tort suits ever heard in New Hampshire courts.

The settlement has not been finalized or released, but Gitinge Group, Atrium’s Swedish parent company, announced on Dec. 8 that it has set aside the equivalent of more than $66 million to deal with the New Hampshire mesh litigation.

“I am pleased that we can put this behind us and fully focus on our core business,” said Mattias Perjos, CEO of Getinge, in a press release.

The lawsuits, which date back to 2016, were filed in U.S. District Court in Concord, often constituting the bulk of the cases on the docket. More than 3,000 short complaints were filed in New Hampshire, 16 in the last week. Nearly all

A hernia mesh lawsuit is a legal claim filed against surgical mesh manufacturers by people who suffered serious injuries after their mesh implants failed. The largest hernia mesh lawsuit settlement amount to date is $184 million paid by C.R. Bard to settle roughly 3,000 cases in 2011.

What Are Hernia Mesh Lawsuits?
People who filed hernia mesh lawsuits claim that mesh made by companies failed and led to severe injuries that required revision surgery to fix.

Patients are suing manufacturers for compensation for damages, including lost wages, medical bills, loss of quality of life, and pain and suffering.

Hernia mesh lawsuits claim:

Defective product design
Improper product labeling, failing to warn patients and doctors about the risk of mesh failure and complications
Defective product manufacturing
Malpractice committed by the plaintiff’s doctor who implanted the faulty mesh

Status of Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
As of Sept. 15, 2021, 20,613 lawsuits were pending

C.R. Bard is prepared to pay $184 million to settle hernia repair lawsuits filed by individuals who suffered severe internal injuries that were allegedly caused by design problems with their Composix Kugel mesh products.

The company announced the charge amount expected to cover any Kugel mesh settlements in its second-quarter report, indicating that the manufacturer has reached agreements in principle with a number of law firms representing a large portion of plaintiffs who have brought a claim.

The settlement comes after only two Kugel hernia mesh trials have been presented to a jury, out of an estimated 3,000 lawsuits that have been filed in courts throughout the United States.

The first Kugel bellwether trial held in federal court, which involved a case brought by John Whittfield, ended in a defense verdict last April. While the jury in that case found that the manufacturers were negligent in the design of