If you were injured by vaginal mesh, you may be looking for information on how to join a vaginal mesh class action lawsuit. You are not alone — thousands of other women have already filed vaginal mesh lawsuits. However, there are no vaginal mesh class action lawsuits. Instead, more than 60,000 individual personal injury lawsuits are now a part of six different Multi-District Litigations (MDL) in federal court. Unlike a class action, lawsuits in an MDL remain independent.
Do I Have a Texas Vaginal Mesh Class Action Lawsuit? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one was injured by severe vaginal mesh side effects, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a vaginal mesh class action lawsuit in Texas.
Vaginal Mesh Class Action Lawsuits
All of the 60,000+ vaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed as individual personal injury lawsuits in Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in federal U.S. district courts.
A class action lawsuit is a large-scale civil proceeding that is brought on behalf of many people with the same injury. Joining a class action lawsuit is usually not advisable when many people have been injured by a medical device like vaginal mesh. This is because class actions are litigated in the interest of the class as a whole. However, individual personal injury lawsuits can be argued on the merits of the individual claims of each plaintiff.
Vaginal Mesh and the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) Process
A Multi-District Litigation (MDL) is not a type of class action lawsuit. However, class actions and individual lawsuits may both be transferred into an MDL. Lawsuits that are centralized in an MDL remain independent.
In the United States, most large drug and medical device litigations are transferred into an MDL. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation (JPML) decides whether to create an MDL, and they also choose the venue. Once the MDL is created, lawsuits and class actions filed around the U.S. are transferred into the MDL. Then, lawyers for both sides establish leadership and steering committees. These lawyers select a group of trials (called “bellwether” trials) that are similar to many other lawsuits. A jury’s decisions in these bellwether trials helps expedite a resolution of the dispute or a potential settlement.
If you were injured by vaginal mesh, you could be eligible for compensation for the following injuries:
- Medical expenses
- Costs of additional surgery
- Lost wages
- Loss of spousal consortium
- Decreased quality of life
- Pain and suffering
- And more
List of Vaginal Mesh MDL and Manufacturers
The following manufacturers of vaginal mesh are currently facing a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia before Judge Joseph R. Goodwin:
- C.R. Bard, MDL No. 2187
- American Medical Systems, MDL No. 2325
- Boston Scientific, MDL No. 2326
- Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, MDL No. 2327
- Coloplast Corp, MDL No. 2387
- Cook Medical, MDL No. 2440
Judge Joseph R. Goodwin is currently presiding over an MDL of unprecedented size. Never before has one judge overseen four MDLs against five manufacturers of the same product, involving more than 8,000 lawsuits and billions of dollars in damages.
Another litigation is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia before Judge Clay D. Land:
- Mentor Ob Tape
Vaginal Mesh and State Court Litigation
The first vaginal mesh lawsuit has already gone to trial in state court in California. In July 2012, a jury in Bakersfield awarded Christine Scott and her husband $5.5 million for injuries linked to the Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh. The plaintiff was an avid runner who got the Avaulta implant in 2008 to treat incontinence. It soon began eroding into her vagina and colon. She has required eight surgeries already, and may require more in the future.
According to her lawyers:
“They tested this on 12 rats, 16 rabbits, four sheep and, by their own researcher’s admission, the next living being this product went into was women.” Another lawyer representing Scott said, “They advertised it as FDA-approved. It’s not. It’s a crime.”
Do I have a Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit in Texas?
Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged.
Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”
The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more than 100 years experience, participation in over 600 jury trials and $60 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact us for a free Texas Vaginal Mesh lawsuit review.