Searcy Denney Files New Defective Sling Case

The manufacturers of defective medical devices have been the focus of a number of lawsuits filed by the Mass Tort Unit of Searcy Denney this week.

A new lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, against Mentor Worldwide (a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Santa Barbara, California); Coloplast A/S (based in Denmark); Coloplast Corporation (a Delaware corporation based in Minneapolis); and Coloplast Manufacturing (a Delaware corporation based in North Mankato, Minnesota).

This case involves a Plant City, Florida woman, who was implanted with a Mentor Aris transvaginal mesh medical device in late 2006 at a Tampa hospital, has suffered a number of serious injuries due to defects in the product. These mesh devices were implanted into tens of thousands of women over the past few decades as a treatment for incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Unfortunately, the transvaginal mesh, bladder sling, and trans-obturator (TVT) products have an extremely high failure rate, with women suffering chronic infections, unrelenting pain, disability, and erosion of the device through the vaginal wall, and other serious complications. The conventional wisdom on the use of these devices has changed dramatically over the past few years, with the FDA issuing important safety alerts for patients in July of 2011.

This case will ultimately be transferred to the newly-created Multi District Litigation (“MDL”) MDL No. 2387 for pelvic mesh claims against Coloplast, which is currently pending before Judge Goodwin in federal court in West Virginia.