Hernia Mesh
Atrium Medical
C-Qur mesh production was halted in 2015 by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Numerous patients reported side effects including pain, infection, mesh migration, organ and tissue damage, liver problems, and the need for additional surgeries.
You can read more about the case via the U.S. District Court District of New Hampshire website here.
C.R. Bard
C.R. Bard has faced multiple lawsuits related to hernia mesh products. In 2013, the company settled around 3,000 lawsuits totaling $200 million for plaintiffs who were injured by the Kugel Hernia Patch.
Bard is facing ongoing litigation over their Ventralex mesh product, which went through the 510(k) pre-market notification process instead of clinical tests. The FDA has recalled and stopped production on other Bard mesh products, but Ventralex has not been recalled. There is a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in federal court for victims injured by Bard mesh products.
You can read more about the case via the United States District Court Southern District of West Virginia website here.
Ethicon
In 2016, Ethicon initiated a worldwide recall of the Physiomesh Flexible Composite hernia mesh
device. The recall followed numerous reports, and then an investigation, of failure rates among patients with the Physiomesh device. It was determined that Physiomesh has a higher than average hernia recurrence and failure rates.
Numerous lawsuits were filed against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon (a subsidiary) by patients who had suffered adverse events, or required additional surgeries. There is an ongoing class-action lawsuit against Ethicon. In total, more than 40,000 lawsuits were filed related to Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson surgical mesh.
You can read more about the case via the United States District Court Southern District of West Virginia website here.
Hip Implants
DePuy Hip Implants
DePuy Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) and DePuy Pinnacle hip replacements have been
named in more than 20,000 lawsuits after patients allege the devices failed or resulted in complications. Patients allege the devices caused soreness, limited mobility, metal poisoning, and failure resulting in additional surgeries.
So far, 8,000 ASR-related claims have been settled for $4 billion. There are still over 1,700 pending lawsuits in federal court. There are still over 9,700 lawsuits pending related to Pinnacle hip replacement devices. There have been several settled cases, and DePuy has lost three cases totaling more than $1.7 billion for plaintiffs.
You can read more about the case via the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas website here.
DJO Surgical Encore
Reports of adverse events and device failure related to DJO Surgical’s Encore hip implant began in 2010. Since then, numerous injury lawsuits have been filed by patients who have suffered due to the metal-on-metal implant.
Lawsuits claim that the metal-on-metal joint design caused grinding that eventually resulted in metal particles being released into the body. Patients experienced tissue and organ damage, metal poisoning, and required additional surgeries.
Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew is facing numerous lawsuits in relation to their R3 Acetabular System and related metal liner. The device was recalled in 2012, but many devices are still in use. Chief among the problems is that the metal liner was not FDA approved for use with the R3 system. The liner was only approved for use with the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) device, which is also being listed in lawsuits after it was removed from the U.S. market in 2016.
Since 2012, more than 7,000 patients have filed lawsuits against Smith & Nephew after suffering chronic pain, dislocation, metal poisoning, or total device failure. At least 130 lawsuits have been combined in federal court, and individual lawsuits are still being filed.
In 2016, Smith & Nephew issued an “urgent field safety notice” about the Modular SMF and Modular REDAPT Revision hip systems. The notice warned healthcare providers and the systems were being recalled due to “higher than anticipated complaint and adverse event trend”. Patients reported chronic pain, fractures, difficulty walking, and total device failure.
Numerous lawsuits have already been filed against Smith & Nephew for problems with these hip implant devices. The lawsuits were consolidated into multi-district litigation (MDL), where, as of August 2018, more than 400 lawsuits were pending.
You can read more about the case via the U.S. District Court District of Maryland website here.
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