Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits Proceed in Federal Court
A federal judge will soon hear the first of four test lawsuits involving Bard Avaulta vaginal mesh.* In March, the Bard Avaulta plaintiffs involved in the federal multi-district litigation in the Southern District of West Virginia (Charleston) filed a motion requesting that the court either allow the three cases to be consolidated into one single trial heard by a sole jury, or in the alternative, to allow three distinct juries to hear the same evidence presented at one trial.* Judge Joseph R. Goodwin denied the plaintiffs’ motion and set all four bellwether cases for trial individually, the first of which will begin this month.* In ordering that the cases be kept separate, Judge Goodwin did not explain his reasoning. ** He did, however, allow the plaintiffs to choose the order in which the individual cases would be tried.**
In addition to the upcoming federal cases, there have already been several vaginal mesh trials in state courts across the nation. In July, 2012, a California trial court awarded an injured woman $5.5 million and a state court in New Jersey awarded a plaintiff $11.1 million, which included an award of punitive or exemplary damages.***
Though only four cases are currently set for trial before Judge Goodwin, women injured by transvaginal mesh have filed approximately 20,000 lawsuits in courts across the United States.*** Approximately, 2,938 of those are Bard Avaulta lawsuits.*** The plaintiffs allege that they were injured by transvaginal mesh and that the product is “unreasonably dangerous and unsafe.”*** Judge Goodwin, the judge hearing the four test cases mentioned above, currently has a total of five multi-district litigation proceedings on his docket, which were assigned to him by the United States Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation.***
If you or someone you know has suffered an injury that may be related to transvaginal mesh, please contact Audet & Partners, LLP by calling us toll free at 800.965.1461 or visit our website dedicated to Transvaginal Mesh litigation athttp://www.vaginalmeshlaws.com.
*Bard Avaulta Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits Selected for First Trials in MDL, (About Lawsuits.com, March 22, 2013),http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/bard-avaulta-vaginal-mesh-lawsuit-selected-42542/#sthash.xsOdZRBs.dpuf
** Pretrial Order #71, March 7, 2013, http://www.aboutlawsuits.comhttp://audetlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2013-03-07-Bard-Avaulta-PTO.pdf
*** Vaginal Mesh Prolapse and Incontinence Lawsuits Making Headway, (Legal Examiner June 11, 2013), http://fortworth.legalexaminer.com/medical-devices-and-implants/vaginal-mesh-prolapse-and-incontinence-lawsuits-making-headway.aspx?googleid=309094#sthash.BCbDtszl.dpuf
