Mesh Lawsuit: January to March 2019
March 25, 2019
Author: Daniel Gala
With so many different products liability actions involving surgical mesh devices presently taking place across the United States and around the globe, it can be easy to get lost in the details. To help, here’s TheLawFirm.com’s snapshot of major surgical mesh lawsuits as they stood at the end of March 2019, including a quick look at which ones are ramping up and which ones are winding down.
Ramping Up: Ethicon PHYSIOMESH Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh MDL – Northern District of Georgia (MDL 2782)
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Georgia over Ethicon PHYSIOMESH continued to add hundreds of new cases through the first part of 2019, with the MDL reaching 1,898 active cases as of mid-March, according the court’s member case list.
In an order issued January 17, the court set the date for the first bellwether trial as February 3, 2020.
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Ramping Up: Atrium C-Qur Mesh MDL – District of New Hampshire
Since late 2016, federal products liability claims involving Atrium Medical Corp.’s C-Qur mesh have been centralized as multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the District of New Hampshire. The first part of 2019 saw the consolidated pretrial proceedings continue to make their way toward the first bellwether trials, as the number of member cases increased by nearly half. But it remains early in the litigation process, with the court still focused on establishing the scheduling and ground rules that will govern the discovery process and selection of bellwether cases.
As of March 19, 2019, the Atrium C-Qur mesh MDL contained over 1,100 individual cases, up from 750 cases in November 2018, an increase of nearly 50%. The vast majority of these cases—over 1,000 total—originated in the District of New Hampshire, where the MDL is centralized, but the MDL includes cases from 22 different districts across the country, according to the court’s list of member cases.
In a sign that the number of claims is expected to grow further still, a court order issued in March 2019 was aimed at streamlining the ability of plaintiffs to file new claims directly with the District of New Hampshire, as defendants agreed to waive their right to contest either venue or service of process relating to new cases filed directly in the MDL.
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Winding Down: CR Bard Pelvic Repair System MDL – Southern District of West Virginia
In the Southern District of West Virginia, Multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving mesh pelvic repair systems manufactured by device makers C.R. Bard, Covidien, and Boston Scientific continued to wind down over the first part of 2019, with 13,685 out of 15,753 cases having closed as of March 21, according to the court’s list of member cases. While this means that more than 1,500 additional cases had closed since the end of September 2018, the MDL also added nearly 70 new cases over the same period.
In March, the judge overseeing the MDL issued an order approving a proposed settlement agreement between a group of plaintiffs and the defendant Covidien, setting the way for the resolution of those cases.
In another sign that the MDL is nearing its final resolution, the court in a separate order reappointed the MDL’s Common Benefit Fee Cost Committee to review attorneys’ common benefit time and expense submissions.
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Ramping Up: Davol / CR Bard Polypropylene Hernia Mesh MDL – Southern District of Ohio
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Southern District of Ohio over polypropylene hernia mesh products made by CR Bard and Davol continued to ramp up in the first part of 2019, with the plaintiffs’ steering committee saying at a March 6 status conference that it expects approximately 3,000 cases to be filed in the MDL by the end of the year. This would mark a considerable increase from the 50 actions centralized by order of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) in August 2018.
C.R. Bard and Davol are accused of defectively designing, manufacturing, and marketing their polypropylene hernia mesh implants, as well as failing to adequately warn patients of the risks involved. Medical complications associated with the hernia mesh devices include inflammation, allergic reactions, adhesions, and damage to internal organs.
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Winding Down: Ethicon Pelvic Repair System MDL – Southern District of West Virginia (MDL 2327)
The first part of 2019 saw multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Southern District of West Virginia over Ethicon’s pelvic repair system continue to wind down, as many of the court’s orders addressed the administration of settlement agreements and the dismissal of closed cases. However, with nearly 13,000 cases still remaining open, the MDL is far from over.
This is not to say that rapid progress is not being made in resolving active cases. Between February 28 and March 22, over the span of less than a month, over 1,000 cases were closed, dropping the number of unresolved cases from 14,048 to under 12,842, as of March 22. In total, the Ethicon pelvic repair system MDL has contained over 40,500 individual cases, according to the court’s list of member cases.
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