Searcy Denney Files New Lawsuit Over Defective Hernia Mesh

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.

An individual lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Bartow, Florida woman who was implanted with a defective hernia mesh patch manufactured by Bard, one of the largest manufacturers of dual mesh products utilized in hernia repair surgeries. The patient was implanted with Bard’s Composix Kugel hernia mesh product in February of 2007 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. The Kugel hernia mesh patch products, which include dual mesh technology and a memory recoil ring, have been the subject of three separate recalls due to defects in the embedded plastic ring, which can break or buckle. When the memory recoil ring breaks or buckles, the patch can migrate or twist, which exposes the bowel and other vital organs to the side of the mesh that encourages tissue in-growth. If the bowel grows into the mesh, patients can suffer a number of catastrophic injuries, including bowel strangulation, bowel obstruction and fistula formation

Navy doctors repair hernia on sailor on the USS George Bush.

This latest case has been filed on behalf of a claimant who suffered a heart attack while undergoing procedures relating to the defective mesh and has suffered significant injuries due to migration of the hernia mesh product which has resulted in severe infection and a draining fistula. Unfortunately, this claimant has been unable to be cleared for the risky surgery necessary to remove the defective patch, which has led to far greater complications, disability, and medical and nursing expenses than those suffered by other patients implanted with the defective Kugel hernia mesh products.

This case was filed in Circuit Court in Polk County, and will likely be transferred to the federal court in Tampa and then sent to the Multi District Litigation (“MDL”) proceedings which have been pending against Bard and Davol for a number of years in Providence, Rhode Island.