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There have been numerous lawsuits filed on behalf of millions of women all around the country against the manufacturers of transvaginal mesh (TVM) and mesh sling devices. Many women who have experienced issues with their pelvic organs have made the decision to be implanted with a TVM or mesh sling in an effort to help fix stress urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. That being the case, the TVM was meant to correct pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence by providing additional support to the pelvic organs and muscles. However, Fort Myers personal injury lawyer Randall Spivey and his team know that both the mesh sling and the TVM have been linked to a large number of severe complications.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there are several common side effects that women who have been implanted with a TVM might experience. Those side effects include pain, infection, bleeding, mesh erosion and organ perforation, among other things.

The History of Problems With TVM Implants

In July of 2011, the FDA released a safety communication that noted that the complications related to TVM implants were not "rare" and that there was no conclusive evidence demonstrating that TVMs were more effective than non-mesh repairs in patients with pelvic organ prolapse. At the time, the FDA had received almost 2,900 new reports of individuals who experienced TVM-related complications between January of 2008 and December of 2010.

In August of 2011, Ralph Nader's watchdog group, Public Citizen, stated that the FDA should recall TVM products because of the safety concerns. In fact, the FDA commented in an executive summary that was released that same month that "it believes that vaginal placement of surgical mesh for pelvic organ prolapse repair inherently introduces risks of complications that are unique to the mesh itself."

The Lawsuits

Lawsuits have been filed against many manufacturers, to include C.R. Bard, Inc., Boston Scientific, American Medical Systems and Johnson and Johnson/Ethicon. Your Fort Myers personal injury lawyer will tell you that women who are victims of TVM implant and mesh sling failures might receive compensation for things such as lost wages, hospital and other medical expenses that were paid out of pocket, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life, among other things.

Some manufacturers have agreed to settle the lawsuits related to TVM. As a matter of fact, C.R. Bard recently agreed to settle 500 suits that alleged that its TVM implants were defective and caused women to sustain serious injuries. Currently, Bard is dealing with over 12,000 lawsuits stemming from its Avaulta TVM. Other manufacturers have also chosen to settle some of their suits. For instance, Endo International recently decided to pay over $800 million to settle their mesh-related cases, and earlier in 2014, Coloplast agreed to settle 400 cases for about $16 million and they are expected to settle 1,500 more cases in the future.

If you or someone you love has sustained injuries from a transvaginal mesh implant or mesh sling device, contact a Fort Myers personal injury lawyer at the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. today.