Several hernia mesh injury reports and product liability lawsuits have highlighted the safety risks involved with certain hernia mesh products. Ethicon, a medical device subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has been named in hundreds of lawsuits, claiming their hernia mesh products are defective and unfit for human use.
The Prolene Hernia System is an Ethicon product made of two separate layers of polypropylene mesh and a mesh tube. The Prolene system is typically used for inguinal hernias.
When hernia mesh fails, however, and revision surgery may be necessary, which can carry a number of additional health and safety risks. Patients have reported to the FDA several symptoms of failing mesh following Prolene polypropylene system and Prolene 3D hernia mesh injury, including the following:
The Lyon Firm represents injured plaintiffs nationwide in Ethicon Prolene and 3D Mesh hernia mesh lawsuits.
Joe Lyon works with medical experts to determine the root cause of a hernia mesh injury, and has experience engaging large medical device companies in product liability litigation.
The Prolene Hernia System has been on the market since around the year 2000. If you have had revision surgery or experienced serious Prolene hernia mesh injury or 3D mesh complications from 2007 to the present, you may be able to file a personal injury and product liability lawsuits and recover compensation related to medical expenses, pain and suffering and emotional distress.
Preserving removed mesh may not be a priority for many patients, but it can be crucial when considering legal action. Have your surgeon preserve any removed mesh product to use as evidence should the mesh be defective and the reason for any Prolene hernia mesh injury.
There have been no official FDA recalls for the Prolene Hernia Mesh System or Prolene 3D Mesh product, however, that doesn’t mean the product is safe for use. Plaintiffs claim a design defect has caused numerous patient injuries, many of which have been reported to the FDA and their implanting surgeons.
Contact a medical device and hernia mesh attorney if you have experienced severe complications such as pain, infection, revision surgery, bowel blockage and perforation, seroma, fistula, and other serious health issues.
ABOUT THE LYON FIRM
Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.
The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.
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The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.
Defective medical device litigation helps to improve patient safety and holds medical device companies accountable when defective products injure plaintiffs and clients.
Attorneys claim several hernia mesh devices were not properly tested before they were marketed and distributed as safe medical instruments.
The companies currently face thousands of pending hernia mesh injury lawsuits. If you have had surgery to treat a hernia using a device and you experience any signs or symptoms of recurrence of the hernia, please consult with a medical and legal expert. The Lyon Firm has experience litigating cases against medical device manufacturers.
Attorneys contend that some hernia mesh devices are not properly tested before they are distributed to the public as safe products. Device companies like Gore, Aspide, Ethicon, Bard, Covidien and Atrium have settled hundreds of lawsuits and currently face countless more injury claims.
If you are unsure about the mesh manufacturer and product used in your surgery and have questions about your hernia repair, contact your Ohio surgeon to obtain medical records. Contact a Cincinnati hernia mesh lawyer to discuss potential hernia mesh injury lawsuits and settlement.
Regardless of treatment, hernias have a high rate of recurrence, and surgeons often use surgical mesh to strengthen the hernia repair recurrence rate. The use of meshes is thought to reduce dramatically the incidence of hernia recurrence.
However, up to 50 percent of hernias may reoccur with an implanted device. This is commonly due to inadequate fixation during the original operation or shrinkage of the mesh. Light-weight meshes may have a higher risk due to their increased flexibility and movement.
Two-thirds of recurrences occur after three years. It is not clear if the type of mesh used has any effect on durability. All mesh products appear equally limited in effectiveness.
Repair of hernias are done by either suture repair or prosthetic mesh repair. The latter is associated with a lower recurrence rate but a higher incidence of complications. The most serious complication is the development of fistula.
Fistula is a late complication of prosthetic mesh repair and is usually due to chronic erosion of bowel by mesh placed in direct contact with intestinal loops both in open and laparoscopic repairs. Symptoms of fistulas may include the following:
Hernia mesh adhesions are scar tissue resulting from hernia mesh operations and the healing process. Following hernia repair surgeries, adhesions may form in the abdomen or peritoneum. The mesh repairs usually heal quickly but when adhesions form, organs connected by the scar tissue may not function properly.
The popularity of hernia mesh operations has led to increasing concern regarding mesh-related adhesions. Adhesions result from the fibrin exudates that follow any kind of trauma.
These exudates form temporary adhesions until the fibrinolytic system absorbs the fibrin. Absorption is delayed in the presence of inflammation or foreign bodies such as mesh devices. In these situations, they develop into tissue adhesions.
All mesh implants produce adhesions, though their extent varies. Abdominal adhesions are a common complication, occurring in a majority of people who undergo abdominal or pelvic surgery. Adhesions cause the majority of small bowel obstructions in adults, and are believed to contribute to the development of chronic pelvic pain.
X-rays do not reveal potential mesh issues or diagnose the presence of adhesions. An additional surgery is usually needed to diagnose or treat hernia mesh adhesions. However, revision surgeries carry risks and can lead to further health problems, including infection, bowel blockage, bowel perforation and chronic pain.
Adhesions may begin forming long before they are noticed by patients or doctors. Depending on the location, adhesions from defective hernia mesh devices may cause pain and affect the bowel in different ways. Even removing a defective hernia mesh product may not completely solve all health issues.
Symptoms of adhesion and hernia mesh injury may include:
Ohio Definition of Defective
Under Ohio law, a medical device is defective if it is unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. A legal cause of action can be based on several types of medical device product defects. Most jurisdictions a version of one or more of these cause of actions.
(1) Manufacturing/ Construction Defect of the medical device:
(2) Defective design and/or formulation of the medical device:
(3) Failure to warn or inadequate warning or instruction associated with the medical device:
(4) Misrepresentation on the Safety or Efficacy of the Medical Device:
(5) Fraud Related to the Safety or Efficacy of the Medical Device
(6) Negligent Distribution or Testing of the Medical Device
Our Firm will help you find the answers. The Firm has the experience, resources and dedication to take on difficult and emotional cases and help our clients obtain the justice for the wrong they have suffered.
Experience: Joe Lyon is an experienced Cincinnati Defective Device Lawyer. The Lyon Firm has 17 years of experience and success representing individuals and plaintiffs in all fifty states, and in a variety of complex civil litigation matters. Defective device lawsuits can be complex and require industry experts to determine the root cause of an accident or injury. Mr. Lyon has worked with experts nationwide to assist individuals understand why an injury occurred and what can be done to improve their lives in the future. Some cases may go to a jury trial, though many others can be settled out of court.
Resources/Dedication: Mr. Lyon has worked with experts in the fields of accident reconstruction, biomechanics, epidemiology, metallurgy, pharmacology, toxicology, human factors, workplace safety, life care planning, economics, and virtually every medical discipline in successfully representing Plaintiffs across numerous areas of law. The Lyon Firm is dedicated to building the strongest cases possible for clients and their critical interests.
Results: Mr. Lyon has obtained numerous seven and six figure results in medical device cases. He has litigated cases successfully against some of the largest companies in the world including: Johnson & Johnson, Biomet, Ethicon, Stryker, Coloplast, Smith & Nephew, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Guidant, Bard, & Bayer.
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