It is extremely important for those women who have suffered harm from implantation of transvaginal mesh to remember that filing a lawsuit against the negligent company must take top priority. Transvaginal mesh is used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. When used to treat SUI, the mesh product is sometimes referred to as a bladder sling. These products have come under scrutiny, particularly since the FDA’s current stance is that there is no evidence that transvaginal POP repair using mesh is any more effective than traditional non-mesh repair and that using transvaginal mesh may even “expose patients to greater risk.”
While Johnson & Johnson and C.R. Bard have pulled some of their mesh products, these decisions likely seem “too little too late” for the thousands of women who live daily with painful complications from a product they believed was safe. There are currently over 12,000 federal lawsuits filed against manufacturers of transvaginal mesh, with over 4,000 more pending in state courts.
There are different statutes of limitations—time limits within which a lawsuit must be filed—from one state to the next. Failure to file a transvaginal mesh lawsuit within the statutes of the state the injured person resides in could potentially bar recovery for claims related to yet another dangerous, substandard medical device. In most cases the statute of limitations begins to run from July, 2011 when the FDA announced there were risks of complications associated with the vaginal mesh when used for pelvic organ prolapse. Some of these complications include mesh erosion, chronic pelvic pain, infection, organ perforation, painful sexual intercourse and incontinence.
While a few states such as Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisiana operate under a one-year statute of limitations for product liability cases, most states, including Texas, have at least a two-year statute and 18 states have a four or six-year statute. While Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming offer those harmed from a transvaginal mesh implant more time to get their lawsuit filed, those who live in states with a two-year statute are coming down to the wire. Individuals implanted with Transvaginal Mesh should consult a qualified transvaginal mesh attorney about their particular circumstances to determine their specific statute of limitations deadlines.
There are some states which have a “discovery rule,” meaning the statute of limitations begins when the person realizes—or “should have realized”—they have suffered injury from the negligence of a person or corporation. This discovery rule could allow those who have passed the statute or are very close a bit of extra time in which to get their suit filed. Other states have more rigid rules regarding the statute of limitations and strictly adhere to the time of the implantation as the beginning of the statute. Because there are a number of nuances regarding transvaginal mesh cases from state to state, women harmed by the product should seek legal advice as soon as possible.
Most women who had transvaginal mesh implants were told it was a low-risk procedure, yet the reality is the complications can be life-altering. Some women have even endured multiple revision surgeries in an attempt to manage their serious health symptoms. Lawyers for these plaintiffs allege the transvaginal mesh products are defective, were not tested sufficiently and that manufacturers failed to warn thousands of women of the potential risks.