Were you or a loved one hurt by a hernia mesh?

More attention has been drawn to hernia mesh devices after a hernia mesh lawsuit gained attention in the media. If you or a loved one were hurt by a hernia mesh or had serious complications after implantation, you may have a claim in a hernia mesh lawsuit.

What is a Hernia Mesh? What kind are involved in hernia mesh lawsuits?

There are many different kinds of hernia mesh products, some of which are involved in hernia mesh lawsuits. A hernia mesh is a medical device implanted during a hernia repair surgery. They’re a very common medical device and approximately a half million surgical hernia repairs are performed every year. There are a large number of hernia mesh products available on the market—but not all of them have proven effective or safe for patients.

Some of the most popular hernia meshes come from medical device manufacturers like Ethicon, Davol, and Gore Medical but there are literally hundreds of hernia mesh devices available for doctors and surgeons to choose from when repairing a hernia.

Hernia mesh products made with a type of plastic known as polypropylene have been attracting the most attention due to a number of hernia mesh lawsuits. Over time, polypropylene can break down in the body, causing severe complications to patients with polypropylene-based devices.

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What role is the FDA playing in hernia mesh approvals?

We expect the government to protect us as consumers from dangerous medical products but in the case of hernia mesh products, many of them are approved without any testing or study. Many hernia mesh products are approved for medical sales through a 510k fast-track approval program in the FDA—meaning that they’re allowed on the market because they’re substantially equivalent” to another product on the market.

However, without stringent testing, there’s no definitive answer if a certain product is safe for widespread use. The FDA has recalled some hernia mesh products because of defects but more and more patients are coming forward with severe complications from hernia mesh products.

The FDA tiptoes around the issue in their information about hernia mesh and recalls, stating (emphasis added):

The most common adverse events following hernia repair with mesh are pain, infection, hernia recurrence, adhesion, and bowel obstruction. Some other potential adverse events that can occur following hernia repair with mesh are mesh migration and mesh shrinkage (contraction).

Many complications related to hernia repair with surgical mesh that have been reported to the FDA have been associated with recalled mesh products that are no longer on the market. Pain, infection, recurrence, adhesion, obstruction, and perforation are the most common complications associated with recalled mesh. In the FDA’s analysis of medical adverse event reports to the FDA, recalled mesh products were the main cause of bowel perforation and obstruction complications.

In other words, patients who experienced complications were often directly caused by faulty mesh products—the very same products the FDA gave a pass on for routine testing and study.

Which hernia mesh products have been recalled?

The FDA Medical Device Recall database is not easy for the average person to navigate so finding out which hernia meshes have been recalled isn’t straightforward. At times, companies subject of recalls have also allegedly denied their products were recalled—and are saying they voluntarily withdrew them from the market, trying to brush off patient claims of medical device injury. While it’s often difficult to identify which hernia mesh devices have been recalled or removed from the market, the following are suspected to cause problems for patients:

  • Atrium C-QUR Mesh
  • Ethicon Physiomesh
  • Ethicon Proceed Surgical Mesh
  • Bard Davol Kugel Hernia Patch Mesh

There may be other hernia mesh devices that have been recalled or that are causing complications or hernia mesh problems in patients so if you’re having complications from your hernia mesh, contacting a lawyer to assess your claim may be the next step for you.

What are hernia mesh complications?

Patients who experience complications from hernia mesh tend to report many of the same problems after the hernia mesh was implanted. If you or a loved one experienced any of these complications or symptoms after a hernia mesh surgery, you have have a hernia mesh lawsuit claim:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Abnormal sweating
  • Adhesions between the bowl and hernia mesh
  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Bowel obstruction
  • Constipation
  • Dental problems from infections
  • Diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Fistulas
  • Fluid around the mesh, called a seroma
  • Headaches
  • Infection or sepsis
  • Joint aches and pain
  • Liver abnormalities
  • Meshoma
  • Nausea
  • Neurological changes
  • Pain during or after sex
  • Pain in leg, groin or testicular areas
  • Rash
  • Renal failure
  • Testicle removal

Our Medical Device Injury Law Firm – Hernia Mesh Lawyers Fighting for Patient Safety

Emerson Firm, PLLC has extensive experience prosecuting claims on behalf of patients and their families, both in cases of medical malpractice as well as cases of medical device and medication injuries. We believe in the protections of the law and hold doctors, medical staff, hospitals and medical device manufacturers accountable when they’ve harmed patients and their families because of errors.

We know our role as hernia mesh lawyers is to ensure the voice of patients and their families are heard and our mission is to fight to uphold protections that keep us all safe during medical procedures and care. Our medical device legal team knows the ins and outs of what it takes from experience. We’re also recognized as leaders in the legal industry from various legal communities.

How serious are hernia mesh complications?

Hernia mesh lawsuits are no laughing matter. Patients who suffer complications from hernia meshes often experience not only a life-threatening complication that can result in expensive hospitalization, it can impact their quality of life forever. Holding the companies that make these devices accountable for the harm they may have caused to you is important to upholding consumer protections and prevent the same from happening to others.

Many recalls initiated by the FDA only happen when enough patients come forward in hernia mesh lawsuits or report their complications to the FDA. It isn’t in the interest of medical device companies to acknowledge complications their products cause and it often takes the FDA getting involved to prevent future harm from occurring.

If you or a loved one was harmed by a hernia mesh, contact us today for a free consultation about your possible hernia mesh claim. There is no cost to you to contact us.

What makes up a hernia mesh lawsuit?

Like many other medical device lawsuits, holding the manufacturer responsible for the harm they’ve caused to you or a loved one requires building a robust, well-documented case to prove that their device caused the harm and that the device was at fault.

In hernia mesh lawsuits, our hernia mesh attorneys know that medical device companies will try to prove it was your fault or your doctor’s fault rather than their own. As hernia mesh lawyers, our goal is to prove that the hernia mesh design was the reason for the injury and complications, not the patients for not following physician’s instructions, patient selection or improper implantation. To do that, we work with our clients to gather together medical documentation, testimonies, experts, and medical studies on similar hernia mesh cases.

Getting together all of these pieces of a hernia mesh claim not only takes time but often takes knowledge of how medical facilities work and what medical device companies do to prevent claims.

A hernia mesh lawyer may be able to help you make your claim and gather together all the information for a hernia mesh lawsuit. Our medical device injury firm offers free initial consultations at no charge to learn about your case and see if we can help you pursue damages.

Successful hernia mesh cases can often recover compensation for the following:

  • Medical expenses, both caused by the injury and future expenses for conditions caused by the injury
  • Lost wages, even if you could go back to work after recovery
  • Loss of earning potential
  • Loss of consortium to spouses due to life-changing injuries or death
  • Pain and suffering
  • Other damages, such as parental support, life’s enjoyment and more

If you believe that you or a loved one were a victim of hernia mesh complications, contact the medical device lawyers at Emerson Firm today to speak with one of our experienced attorneys. Don’t let medical device companies take advantage of their position and hold those accountable who caused your injuries or the injuries of a loved one because of mistakes.

Call us today!