North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer Blog

Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits: Key Jury Verdicts (Part 1)

Published on: December 3, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

Transvaginal mesh (TVM) is a plastic mesh product that is surgically implanted in women to repair or support weakened vaginal walls and other compromised tissue. Many women suffer from a condition called pelvic organ prolapse (POP), where an organ like the bladder prolapses from its normal position in the body and presses against the walls of the vagina. One of the main causes of this condition is childbirth. The FDA approved TVM for treatment of women with POP and other conditions like stress urinary incontinence more than a decade ago.

Sadly, TVM has caused terrible problems for thousands of women. Not only after transvaginal mesh was marketed and sold, women began complaining of different, often more serious problems. Complications include erosion of the vaginal wall, infections, urinary problems, pain during sexual intercourse, scarring, bowel or bladder perforation, and recurrence of pelvic organ prolapse or incontinence. Women have been forced to undergo surgeries to attempt to repair the damage done by transvaginal mesh. In some cases injured women have endured multiple surgeries.

The lawsuits followed. Fortunately for these (often severely) injured women, these cases are finally getting to trial and to jury verdicts. The good news is that some plaintiffs have received millions from juries for their injuries. But the TVM manufacturers have also scored victories.

Transvaginal Mesh: What Is It and Why So Many Lawsuits?

Published on: November 27, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

You have probably seen news reports (or at least the flood of TV commercials from law firms) about the suffering caused by the failure of transvaginal mesh (TVM) products. This is a unique medical device failure “story” because of the large number of women who have been affected. It is estimated that transvaginal mesh is implanted in more than 200,000 women each year in the United States. And by early 2015 well over 70,000 lawsuits have been filed against transvaginal mesh manufacturers because of injuries caused by TVM. More lawsuits are being filed each week.

But let’s back up.

Surgical mesh is a medical product that “is used to provide additional support when repairing weakened or damaged tissue.” FDA News Release April 29, 2014. It is a plastic lattice-type mesh that is surgically implanted around weakened, loose, sagging, or otherwise compromised human tissue (such as a vaginal wall). While surgical mesh can be used to treat different kinds of problems, such as hernia, the mesh that has caused much of the current suffering and most of the lawsuits involves transvaginal mesh.

Three Key Verdicts in 2015 Risperdal Jury Trials

Published on: November 19, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

I have written on this site about the horrific side effects that some young men have suffered as a result of taking the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Check out my recent post on the subject for further information.

Risperdal was developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a company owned by Johnson & Johnson) to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, Risperdal has caused terrible side effects, including gynecomastia, which is the growth of female breasts on boys and young men. As you can imagine, once this condition developed, and then developed again and again in many young men, it became clear that something was very wrong.

The lawsuits followed, over 5,000 so far, and more are being filed each week.

Client To Lawyer: Listen to Me!

Published on: November 16, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

So often in life people get things exactly backward. Many lawyers, even great lawyers, see themselves first as accomplished advocates and gifted orators, and therefore in client meetings these lawyers will speak “at” their clients, dispensing their “expertise” and dominating the conversation. On and on and on. This is a mistake. These lawyers presume wrongly that the client has scheduled a meeting to hear the lawyer’s latest thoughts on case strategy, or that the client wants an extended briefing on the status of discovery or the latest trial motion.

This is almost completely wrong.

What Clients Want

Clients want to be heard. They want to be understood. They want their attorney to listen. And not just listen, but listen deeply.

I get it. The client has entrusted the attorney with a huge responsibility. The client has handed over her case to a professional to manage and maneuver it through the dense thicket of the legal system, and to handle the case well enough to achieve a successful outcome.

But it’s more than that: the client has handed over her story to the attorney. There is so much more involved in a lawsuit than merely grinding through discovery, dispositive motions, mediation, and trial. The lawyer is responsible for building the story of the client’s case. And every case is a compelling story. It’s the lawyer’s job to hear it.

Zimmer Persona Artificial Knee Recall: Lawsuits Mounting

Published on: November 11, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

“The Most Anatomically Accurate Knee Implant”

In 2012, medical device manufacturer Zimmer, Inc. introduced the Persona artificial knee to the public with lofty language. Zimmer announced that the company was “redefining knee arthroplasty and ushering in a new era of personalization with the introduction of the Persona Knee.” Zimmer stated on its website that by “working with more than 50 of the world’s most respected orthopaedic surgeons, and utilizing analytics from both genders and 1,500 different bone types from 26 different ethnicities, Zimmer was able to create the most anatomically accurate knee implant.”

The reported advantage of the Persona knee system, according to Zimmer, was that it would give surgeons several component options for each patient and each surgery, thus assuring a tailored fit for the patient. Again, from Zimmer: “the result is an implant system that addresses the unique needs of the patient and accommodates surgeon-specific preferences — all while empowering surgeons to minimize “trade-offs” and better optimize results.” Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Zimmer sold the Persona knee from November 2012 through March 2015. A lot of them. But bad things began to happen. People began reporting pain and other symptoms, including loosening of the knee components inside the leg.

Depuy Pinnacle Artificial Hip Lawsuits: The Basics

Published on: November 6, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

I’ve written a lot about the Depuy ASR Hip System on this site. And there are good reasons for that. First, I have represented many clients who suffered from failed Depuy ASR hip components, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the Depuy ASR MDL. Second, the Depuy ASR hip failures have generated thousands of lawsuits across the country, more than other artificial hip products. The last I checked, filed cases involving the Depuy ASR hip system exceeded 10,000, so the ASR claims are far and away the biggest source of litigation among the artificial hip manufacturers.

Nevertheless, other artificial hips have been failing. Depuy Orthopaedics manufactures and sells the Depuy Pinnacle Cup System. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Depuy and Johnson & Johnson related to the Depuy Pinnacle hip, although so far, Depuy is defending the Pinnacle Hip aggressively and recently won a jury trial involving a woman who claimed she was injured by the Pinnacle.

Questions From Artificial Hip Clients: What Are The Key Medical Records?

Published on: November 3, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

I answered some of the questions provided by a former client of mine in Part 1. Today I will work through more questions from The List. I noticed several questions grouped around the concept of gathering relevant medical records. Very good topic.

At the outset I should remind you that your attorney will request your complete medical file from the hospital, your surgeon, your physical therapist, the radiologist, your primary physician, even the drug store. Still, it is helpful to know which documents are vital in building a strong case against a manufacturer when a hip or knee or other medical device fails.

What Are Product Stickers?

These are the identifying “stickers” attached to medical devices like an artificial hip. Prior to surgery, a medical device (like the acetabular cup in a hip replacement) will be delivered to the hospital or surgical center in a package. The product sticker will be affixed to or included with this package, and the operating room nurse will be responsible for double-checking that the medical device is the properly prescribed one for your specific surgical procedure. Once the medical device is confirmed to be correct, the nurse will remove the product sticker and place it on a page usually titled something like Receiving Report or Perioperative Note or even Nurse’s Report. These stickers will have all the key identifying information relating to the medical device.

For example, the product sticker may state in large lettering: Depuy ASR Acetabular Cup. It will identify a reference number and a lot number; the sticker will also contain bar codes to further identify the particular medical device or component. The sticker will display the size of the acetabular cup, and other important information specific to that device.

Key Questions My Clients Have Asked When An Artificial Hip Fails

Published on: October 29, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

Part 1

I was chatting with a former client the other day and I asked her if she could tell me the burning questions she had when she discovered her hip replacement surgery had “failed” and that she needed revision surgery. It turned out to be a masterstroke on my part, because a few days later she sent me a three page list of intriguing questions (let’s call it “The List”). Many of these questions I have answered in previous articles on this site. But not all of them. In fact, some questions startled me, as I had not considered every possible uncertainty a person may have when going through such an awful ordeal. I will answer three of these questions in this post, and I will return to The List in the coming weeks to answer more of the questions.

What Questions Should I Ask My Surgeon?

Here is usually how it works: you will undergo the hip replacement surgery, and you will see your surgeon post-operation and then for follow-up visits in the next few months following surgery. But the surgeon will quickly disappear, as he or she has more patients to see and more surgeries to perform, week after week. So you will spend more time in the recovery and rehabilitation period with other medical professionals, such as your physical therapist and perhaps your primary physician. Your physical therapist may be the first to identify that there is a problem with your recovery and therefore that there may be a problem with your hip replacement. Or it could be your primary care physician. Or it could actually be the orthopedic surgeon who performed the procedure, who may explain that the hip has failed in one of these post-op follow-up visits. (Of course, keep in mind that the artificial hip could take months or even years to “fail.”)

The Single Most Important Gift an Attorney Should Deliver to a Client

Published on: October 26, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

I have had bad eyesight since I was a teenager. Now in my mid-forties, I have endured retinal tears, cataracts, elevated eye pressure, even something called vitreous detachment. I will spare you the details, but this year the cataracts became bad enough that my ophthalmologist suggested I consider surgery to remove the cloudiness on the lenses of both eyes.

I needed to find the right surgeon to perform this delicate procedure. I mean, we’re talking about my eyes. Few things in our lives are as important to our quality of life as our vision. Needless to say, I was not going into this search lightly.

Searching for Assurance

I asked everyone I knew to recommend the most competent physician performing cataract surgeries. Fortunately I know many people who work in the medical field, and I set out to get everyone’s views on the subject. First I asked my ophthalmologist, who gave me a few names. I asked my retinal surgeon, who gave me four names. I asked an ophthalmology nurse, who gave me her views on the best cataract surgeons. I asked people who had undergone the procedure in the past. I asked people who may not have had a clue as to which surgeon might be good for these surgeries. I was going to do my homework before allowing some stranger to make incisions on my eyes.

How Did My Testosterone Lawsuit End Up in Illinois Federal Court?

Published on: October 21, 2015 | By Clay Hodges

So you are a man in your early fifties, and around four years ago you were prescribed testosterone to treat what you were told was “Low-T” (or low testosterone–I’ve already written on this subject). Sadly, two years ago you suffered a pretty awful heart attack, and your doctor took you off the testosterone replacement therapy and stated that he believed the testosterone was a significant cause of your heart attack. Four months later you found a good attorney who agreed to review your case, and six months after that your attorney filed suit in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina. So far so good (well, except for the heart attack). Then two months later you discovered that your case had been “transferred” to federal court in the North District of Illinois in Chicago.

So What Just Happened?

Your case was transferred from your home federal district court to the multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) court that has been designated to consolidate cases like yours in one central court with one primary federal judge as a way to process more efficiently the hundreds of claims against the testosterone manufacturers.

For testosterone lawsuits such as yours, that MDL is “MDL 2545 (In re Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation).” Judge Matthew F. Kennelly is the presiding federal judge of MDL 2545.