Six months after the completion of the case of Christine Scott in California, another vaginal mesh lawsuit is slated to begin this week in New Jersey. This time the complainant is a woman from South Dakota who was implanted with a Gynecare Profit vaginal mesh device and allegedly suffered severe effects as a result of using the device. Due to the widespread complaints of vaginal mesh users, other methods of treatment have been encouraged and new studies and tests have been performed. A very inspiring development was the high success rate of a new method tested in Michigan.
After receiving assurance from her doctor that the procedure was safe and involves little risk, Linda Gross, a 47 year-old native of Watertown, South Dakota was implanted in 2006 with the vaginal mesh device. She started experiencing adverse effects such as urinary complications, constant pain, and swelling not long after the surgery.
In order to relieve the pain and remove the vaginal mesh, 12 surgeries had already been done but have not been successful yet. The condition she finds herself now has been described as horrible. She feels like the inside of her vaginal wall is on fire and she is always under extreme pain.
For the pain she has to endure every day, Linda blames the unknown amount of mesh still inside her. The pain is such that she cannot sit longer than 20 minutes without having to stand up or lie down just relieve the pain. Activities have been limited to just a few minutes and she cannot indulge in sexual relations with her husband. She has been required to various medicines daily for her severe pains.
The trial which is set to start on January 10th is, to Linda Gross, a high point in her struggle to seek justice for the endless misery she has endured for almost five years. Jury selection is expected to be completed by January 9 with the trial to start the following day.
It was alleged in the complaint that the company was negligent and that there was a defect in the design of their products. Failure to adequately warn patients and health providers of the risks involved in the use of the devise was also alleged in the complaint of Linda Gross.
The question on whether Johnson & Johnson, through its Ethicon division, secured a clearance or approval from the FDA before marketing their vaginal mesh products is expected to be a major issue. Defense lawyers maintain that the company did not seek clearance from the concerned agency and instead relied on their own interpretation of the controversial 510(K) application process.
Expected to be completed within a month, the trial which will be handled by Judge Carol Higbee will start on the tenth of this month. Linda Gross strongly believes, regardless of the outcome of the trial, that she would have done her part in making women understand the dangers of using vaginal mesh products.
References:
abcnews.go.com/Health/WomensHealth/johnson-johnson-sued-vaginal-mesh-product
bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/j-j-faces-first-vaginal-mesh-implant-trial-in-new-jersey.html
