Bard Avaulta Mesh Lawsuits Set for First Bellwether Trial

Litigation over C.R. Bard's Avaulta transvaginal mesh devices is moving ahead.  According to a report from Bloomberg News, the federal judge overseeing the Bard Avaulta transvaginal mesh multidistrict litigation has scheduled the first bellwether trial for February 3, 2013.

About 600 Bard Avaulta transvaginal mesh lawsuits are pending in the multidistrict litigation before U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.  Judge Goodwin is also overseeing multidistrict litigations involving other transvaginal mesh manufacturers, including Johnson & Johnson and American Medical Systems. The MDL's bellwether trials will help determine how much responsibility the mesh manufacturers bear for the women’s' injuries, and how much any damages are worth.

Both C.R. Bard and Johnson & Johnson are named in transvaginal mesh lawsuits in state court in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first trial in that litigation, a case involving Gynecare Prolift made by Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon unit is scheduled to go to trial on November 5. American Medical Systems faces lawsuits in Delaware and Minnesota state courts over its Perigee, Apogee and Elevate surgical mesh products, according to Bloomberg.  Complaints allege that transvaginal mesh products used in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) repair surgeries caused women to suffer serious complications, including organ damage.

According to Bloomberg, more than 75,000 women a year have transvaginal mesh devices implanted to treat SUI and POP.