July 29, 2013 — Earlier this month, the first vaginal mesh lawsuit to go to trial in federal court ended in a mistrial on its second day. Today, the trial will resume with opening arguments presented before a new jury.
The lawsuit, Cission v. Bard, was filed by plaintiff Donna Cission. She alleges that C.R. Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh implant was defective and caused her to suffer pain, bleeding, incontinence, bladder spasms, and two revision surgeries. Her lawyers claim that Bard ignored warnings from the manufacturer of the plastic used in the Avaulta implant that it was unfit for permanent implants.
The trial began on July 9 in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) involving more than 20,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits. The litigation, MDL 2187 — C.R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Product Liability Litigation, is overseen by Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Judge Goodwin declared a mistrial after Dr. Lennox Hoyte, a gynecologist and expert witness from Florida, told the jury that the Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh had been withdrawn from the market. In pre-trial rulings, Judge Goodwin expressly forbade plaintiffs from telling the jury about the withdrawal of the Avaulta because he was concerned it would bias the jury.
According to Judge Goodwin, he declared a mistrial “because I don’t think it’s a bell that can be un-rung. … I think it would have been very difficult for the jury to disregard it.”
Judge Goodwin is overseeing MDL against C.R. Bard, which now involves more than 4,000 lawsuits. In the MDL process, “bellwether” cases are selected to go to trial before a jury because they involve the same legal questions as other lawsuits. If the jury awards compensation to the plaintiff, this helps lawyers negotiate possible settlements for other plaintiffs in the MDL.
Do I have a Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting vaginal mesh induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by vaginal mesh, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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