U.S. Judge Joseph Goodwin requested transvaginal mesh device makers and the women suing them to resolve their tens of thousands of lawsuits in one of the biggest U.S. mass torts in history.More than 70,000 transvaginal mesh lawsuits against seven companies have been consolidated before Goodwin, and additional cases continue to be filed. The companies facing the most cases “Bard, Ethicon and Boston Scientific” have each been hit with multimillion dollar verdicts for women who said the mesh caused painful infections, bleeding and other complications.
Now, court-supervised meetings are bring held between with key officials and counsel for the companies, along with lead lawyers for women who say they have been injured by mesh devices, used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
Justice Goodwin lauded American Medical Systems, a subsidiary of Endo International Plc, for deciding to settle. The company said last year it would set aside up to $1.6 billion to resolve 20,000 lawsuits. That figure suggests the high stakes for the three main defendants, which each face a comparable number of cases.
Jeffrey Newman represents whistleblowers
