Federal Bellwether Trial of C.R. Bard Mesh Lawsuit Now Underway

Testimony has begun in a federal bellwether trial of a C.R. Bard vaginal mesh lawsuit. According to court records, a jury was seated on Monday, and the trial is expected to last 12 days. Among other things, the plaintiff in the case alleges that a C.R. Bard Avaulta Plus device she received in 2009 was made with a resin-based plastic not fit for use in humans.

Though this is the first C.R. Bard mesh lawsuit to head to trial in the federal litigation underway in West Virginia, one trial has already concluded on the state level. That case, which ended in July 2012, resulted in a win for plaintiffs after a California Superior Court jury found that one of Bard’s Avaulta products was responsible for a woman’s injuries. Bard and the woman’s doctor were ordered to pay her and her husband a total of $5.5 million.

C.R. Bard Mesh Lawsuits Mounting in Federal Litigation

According to court records, C.R. Bard is facing more than 4,400 transvaginal mesh lawsuits filed on behalf of women who suffered mesh erosion, incontinence, infections, chronic pain, and other serious complications, allegedly due to the company’s Avaulta mesh devices. The plaintiff in the federal trial says she was forced to undergo multiple corrective surgeries due to her injuries. She alleges the Avaulta Plus device was defectively manufactured, and claims C.R. Bard failed to provide adequate warnings about the product’s risks.

While C.R. Bard has never issued a mesh recall for any of its pelvic mesh products, it did announce last summer that it would end U.S. sales of some Avaulta devices, including the Avaulta Solo Synthetic Support System, the Avaulta Solo Biosynthetic Support System, the Avaulta Plus Biosynthetic Support System and the Avaulta Biosynthetic Support System. The decision was prompted by the specter of greater regulatory oversight for transvaginal mesh used in pelvic organ prolapse repair. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which has issued two public health advisories about pelvic mesh complications since 2008, is considering reclassifying such products as high risk medical devices. Among other things, the FDA ordered Bard and other manufacturers of mesh used in prolapse repair to conduct post-market safety studies of their devices.

Victims of Transvaginal Mesh May Still Have Time to File a Claim

More than 20,000 mesh lawsuits have been filed in multidistrict litigations underway in U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia. In addition to C.R. Bard, American Medical Systems, Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., and Ethicon Inc. are also named as defendants in these proceedings. Women who have been injured by these products may still have time to file their own mesh lawsuit. For a free legal evaluation of your case, please contact Bernstein Liebhard LLP today, by calling .