Momentum Building for Large Scale Settlements of Transvaginal Mesh MDLs

RD Legal Offers Post-Settlement Funding to Cash-Strapped Plaintiffs’ Attorneys

Cresskill, NJ: Settlement talks are going on “behind the scenes” to resolve some 30,000 federal transvaginal mesh lawsuits, according to the overseeing U.S. District Judge. Companies involved in the negotiations are C.R. Bard, Inc.; American Medical Systems, Inc.; Ethicon, Inc.; Endo Health Solutions, Inc. (ENDP); Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX); Coloplast Corp.; and Cook Medical, Inc. Johnson & Johnson is not participating. The ongoing talks are a positive sign that a settlement may soon be offered to women who suffered catastrophic side effects from defective transvaginal mesh inserts.
 
For plaintiffs’ attorneys litigating major MDLs, there are frequently post-settlement payment delays. To combat this potential cash flow dilemma, RD Legal Funding, LLC (“RD Legal”) is offering accelerated post-settlement financing to plaintiffs’ attorneys who have yet to receive any compensation but have finalized settlements in place.

Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, is managing nearly 23,000 transvaginal mesh federal cases. Lawyers representing the litigating women have asked the judge to create a settlement committee including attorneys Gerard Rice, Bryan Aylstock, and Clayton Clark. Settlement talks are complicated because the companies produced over 50 transvaginal mesh products, some of which have been removed from the market while others are still being sold. As more women injured by transvaginal mesh implants come forward, the companies could be facing as many as 50,000 suits and a multibillion-dollar settlement.

Gynecologists implant mesh vaginally to repair Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI). POP generally develops in older women whose uterus, bladder, and pelvic muscles have become stretched and weakened.  SUI — when urine leaks during coughing, laughing, exercising, or other activities — typically occurs after childbirth or during pregnancy. Manufacturers ignored problems with the mesh which were published in scientific journals as early as 2005. In 2012, the FDA ordered the companies to make three-year studies of rates of organ damage, infection, and painful sex linked to the vaginal mesh.
 
Companies involved in transvaginal mesh litigation include:

• Bard is facing 12,000 implant lawsuits. In the first mesh case to go to trial in the United States, a California state jury found against Bard, ordering the company to pay $5.5 million in damages. Under California law, the company is only liable for $3.6 million. In a second trial in Georgia, a federal court jury ordered Bard to pay $2 million in damages. Bard removed Avaulta products Biosynthetic, Plus, and Solo from the market in 2012. Other Bard pelvic mesh products include PelviSoft, PelviLace, and Pelvicol.

• Endo’s American Medical Systems, Inc. settled an unknown number of cases this year for $54.5 million. The company is still facing 13,500 state and federal claims. Products include AMS Mini Arc Single Incision Sling, BioArc, Elevate, Perigee, and Apogee.

• Boston Scientific has 12,000 suits pending over devices including Arise, Pinnacle, Advantage Fit, Lynx, Obtryx, Prefyx PPS, and Solyx.

• Coloplast, a Danish company, is planning to resolve all of its 600 suits over Coloplast Mesh by the end of 2013.

• Cook faces about 400 claims for products including Surgisis® EF Soft Tissue Graft and Surgisis® 4-Layer Tissue Graft.

• Eithicon, a subsidiary of J&J, was forced to pay $11.1 million in a New Jersey trial in February. Through June 30, 2013, the company had 12,250 claims pending. Products include Mentor ObTape and Prolift. 

For attorneys who have expended considerable time and expenses on the transvaginal mesh cases without receiving any compensation, post-settlement funding can be especially helpful. As soon as settlement amounts are finalized, the plaintiffs’ attorneys are urged contact Joseph Genovesi, President of RD Legal, by phone at 1-800-565-5177, ext. 140. For those ready to begin the application process, please fill out the quick form at the top of this page. RD Legal, which was founded in 1998, is now one of the nation's leading providers of post-settlement funding for attorneys.