Federal Jury Awards $2 Million in Vaginal Mesh Bellwether Trial
Emails from 2004 and 2007 recently filed in federal court in West Virginia indicate that a Davol executive warned colleagues not to notify Chevron Phillips or other resin makers that the firm was using the material in medical devices designed to be implanted in humans. In a March 2004 email, the Davol executive, Roger Darois, now a Bard vice president, wrote that suppliers like Chevron Phillips “will likely not be interested in a medical application due to product-liability concerns.” He continued in the email, “It is likely they do not know of our implant application. Please do not mention Davol’s name in any discussion with these manufacturers.” According to attorneys for thousands of women who have allegedly suffered injuries caused by CR Bard’s Avaulta line of mesh implants, the files show that Davol officials knew the resin-based mesh wasn’t appropriate for use in humans and attempted to conceal their use of the material.
According to estimates by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), roughly 300,000 women underwent pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery in 2010, and surgical mesh was used in a whopping one-third of the procedures. That same year, more than 250,000 women underwent surgery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and about 80% involved vaginal mesh implants, the FDA reported. If you have suffered major complications that you believe to be related to Bard Avaulta mesh or another potentially dangerous medical device, our consumer advocates can put you in touch with a knowledgeable lawyer in your area who can help you pursue financial compensation for your defective device-related injuries, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-26/bard-used-mesh-plastic-found-unfit-for-humans-by-supplier.html
