October 1, 2014 — Endo International Plc. has agreed to settle about 10,000 lawsuits involving vaginal mesh for $400 million, or an average payout of $48,000 per plaintiff, according to Bloomberg.
This resolves “substantially all” of the lawsuits against Endo’s American Medical Systems (AMS) unit, leaving only about 5,000 cases pending. Earlier this year, Endo settled 20,000 lawsuits for $830 million. All of the lawsuits involve the AMS Elevate, Apogee, and Perigee implants.
The announcement came just one day after the FDA said vaginal mesh was a high-risk device that should be subject to stricter safety requirements. Endo also settled an undisclosed number of lawsuits for $54.4 million in June 2013. In total, Endo has paid about $1.3 billion in settlements.
No cases have gone to trial against Endo, but one is scheduled for state court in Texas early next year. Other device-makers have not fared very well in trials this year. In September, a Dallas jury awarded $73 million to a woman who was injured by Boston Scientific’s Obtryx bladder sling. Just weeks before, $3.27 million was awarded to a woman who was injured by Johnson & Johnson’s TVT-O mesh by a jury in West Virginia.
Most of the lawsuits were filed by women with severe injuries. The FDA has warned that serious complications are not rare and thousands of women have been left with permanent complications — chronic pain, incontinence, nerve damage, disfigurement, and more.
The problem is that transvaginal mesh can erode into a woman’s body after it is implanted. In some cases, it becomes exposed inside the vagina. This complication must be treated with surgery. Unfortunately, because vaginal mesh is designed to be permanent, it is often impossible to completely remove.
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 diagnosed with complications or needed surgery, 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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