While many patients with hernia mesh implants have had their lives changed for the better, there have also been patients who have suffered due to the implants breaking down, causing severe complications.
And since 2005, more than 200,000 hernia mesh implants have been recalled from a handful of different manufacturers. Today we are looking at why this happened, how patients can seek compensation and hopefully find justice and peace of mind.
Hernia Mesh Recalls
While some recalls for the mesh devices have been made due to packaging errors or higher than normal failure rates, the FDA has also classified a large number as class 2 recalls, meaning that patients using the mesh can suffer negative health issues from using the mesh.
What is worse, is that some recalls were classified by the FDA as Class 1, meaning that the product could be the cause of serious health issues, leading to permanent damages. Issues associated with the defective hernia mesh implants are plenty, including but not limited to chronic pain, infection, mesh erosion, adhesions, organ perforation, device migration, bowel fistulas and bowel obstruction.
As a result, many different manufacturers of hernia mesh implants have issued recalls, dating as far back as 2005 and as late as 2019, acknowledging the potential dangers associated with certain hernia mesh products.
In connection with patients seeking compensation and justice, these recalls can be seen as an acknowledgment of the potential dangers associated with specific hernia mesh products, providing validity to the claims of the patients, and giving validity to their stated sufferings.
Seeking Compensation
In order to be eligible for compensation, people or their loved ones will need to have suffered complications and or side effects due to the hernia mesh implants. Depending on the specific individual case, this can be fairly easily proven, or might require expert opinions and examinations.
Eligible patients are able to seek compensation for their pain and suffering, receive monetary aid to help cover their previous medical expenses, as well as any future medical bills, and the compensation can even include stipulations for lost wages or disability aid for the home.
There are several different legal options to take, although the most popular and successful routes have to do with mass tort lawsuits. These combine the grievances of many patients, into a single case, making it cheaper for the individuals to afford representation, while also providing a shared platform for the sharing of evidence and more.
In past cases, these lawsuits have alleged that manufacturers of the hernia mesh implants were well aware of the serious risks and issues of their products, and that they failed to disclose warnings and adequate information about these risks to the patients and healthcare professionals.
Furthermore, other lawsuits have argued that the manufacturers also were utilizing deceptive marketing practices, in order to brand their products as being safe for patients, and thus downplaying the potential health consequences, in favor of revenue and sales.
If you have suffered complications from a hernia mesh implant, you may be eligible to participate in a mass tort lawsuit.
Eligibility criteria can vary, but generally, it includes individuals who have experienced adverse effects due to a specific hernia mesh product that is subject to a recall or has a known history of complications.
If you wish to learn more, then contact Shamis & Gentile, P.A. today for a free case review.
