Transvaginal mesh maker C.R. Bard Inc. has reached an agreement to settle 3,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits for more than $200 million. The settlement averages out to $67,000 per case.
In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered Bard and other mesh manufacturers to conduct studies of organ damage caused by the medical device. Used to treat incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, vaginal mesh devices are sewn into place in the vagina. The lawsuits allege that once implanted, the transvaginal mesh devices shrink, resulting in severe pain, bleeding and damage to organs. Some women are forced to undergo more than one surgery to remove the device.
Bard’s 2015 Transvaginal Mesh Large-Scale Settlement is its Second
This is not Bard’s first vaginal mesh settlement. In 2014, Bard settled another group of cases for an average amount of $43,000 per case. This year’s settlement reportedly resolves roughly one-fifth of the remaining pelvic mesh lawsuits against Bard. Combined, the two groups of settled cases amount to a third of the total cases filed against Bard.
Vaginal mesh cases filed in federal court have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin in Charleston, West Virginia. Judge Goodwin has been encouraging Bard to settle the lawsuits to eliminate the risk that the company could be hit with billions of dollars in repeated jury awards. In 2013, a West Virginia jury awarded a $2 million verdict against the transvaginal mesh maker. Bard settled that case for an undisclosed amount.
According to public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bard has added $337 million to the $660 million it had already reserved for product-liability lawsuits.
Contact Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel to Learn More About Filing a Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit
We understand that injuries caused by pelvic mesh are personal and they’re sensitive. Because of this we’ve assembled a legal team, most of whom are women, to provide our TVM clients with compassionate and aggressive representation throughout the entire course of litigation. To learn more about Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel, or to have one of our attorneys review your potential case, contact us by email or call our transvaginal mesh lawyers, like Kyla Cole in our Texas office, at800.226.9880.
