Hernia Mesh
Hernia mesh is a type of medical device that doctors once implanted into patients to hold herniated organs in place. But over time, these devices, also called transvaginal mesh or surgical mesh, began causing a range of problems and complications that often required at least one corrective surgery.
As a result, patients often had worse outcomes with the devices than without them.
Learn more about the injuries caused by hernia mesh products and your options for seeking compensation through a product liability claim.
Contact or call Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers in Houston, TX at (713) 500-5000 to schedule a free consultation to discuss the compensation you can receive for your hernia mesh injuries.
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How Our Houston Product Liability Lawyers Can Help With a Hernia Mesh Claim
Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers is a Houston, Texas law firm focused on helping victims of accidents, medical malpractice, and defective products.
The firm’s Houston personal injury attorneys have more than 45 years of combined legal experience and have earned many honors and recognitions, including Board certification in personal injury trial law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. We’ve acquired tens of millions of dollars for our injured clients over the years.
If you hire our Houston product liability attorneys for help after suffering complications from hernia mesh, we’ll:
- Gather evidence and consult leading experts to prove the elements of your claim
- Negotiate with insurance companies and other opposing parties to get you the best possible outcome in your hernia mesh case
- Tackle your case from start to finish while you focus on recovering
- Litigate for you in court if we fail to secure a fair out-of-court settlement
A defective medical device can cause pain, mental anguish, and disability for which expensive treatment might be required.
How Common Are Hernia Mesh Injuries?
Hernia mesh was widely used in surgical hernia treatments at one time. By 2000, about 90% of groin hernia surgeries employed hernia mesh. Studies showed that hernias repaired with mesh recur less frequently than hernias repaired using sutures alone.
However, the FDA also received several thousand complaints about hernia mesh injuries and complications over the years. Based on these complaints, the FDA issued a recall of more than 200,000 hernia mesh units from several manufacturers and distributors.
The FDA hasn’t determined the total number of injuries caused by hernia mesh products, but manufacturers face over 24,500 product liability lawsuits for injuries caused by these devices.
Overview of Hernia Mesh Injuries and Defects
A hernia occurs when the organs or other tissues protrude through a tear, opening, or weak spot in the abdominal or pelvic region.
Risks associated with hernias include strangulation, which happens when the blood supply to the protruding tissue becomes restricted. Without proper circulation, the tissue dies, leading to infection, sepsis, gangrene, or even death.
Hernia mesh is a kind of fine netting made from a plastic material that surgeons use to reinforce the weakness or opening that leads to herniation. The alternative treatment, suturing the weakness or opening, doesn’t provide the same level of support, but it avoids many of the potential problems caused by hernia mesh.
What Types of Hernia Mesh Injuries Can Occur?
Hernia mesh can cause different types of injuries. Most of these injuries center around three primary complications resulting from mesh implants:
Adhesion
Adhesion is when the hernia mesh sticks to your tissues.
When the mesh adheres to the tissue it was intended to reinforce, it prevents another hernia.
But when it sticks to other tissues, it can produce serious health complications, including:
- Intestinal blockages
- Inflammation
- Infection
- Pockets of fluid (seromas)
- Pain or discomfort
Corrective surgery is required to detach the tissue from the hernia mesh.
Migration
Migration occurs when the hernia mesh fails to remain where it was implanted. It moves within the abdominal or pelvic cavity, potentially damaging other organs or tissues in the process.
Mesh Failure
Sometimes, the mesh can fail to reinforce the site of the herniation. This might happen if the openings are too large, the mesh unravels, or the mesh pattern allows tissue to slip through.
How To Establish Liability for a Hernia Mesh Injury
To prove liability for hernia mesh injuries, injured patients must prove that the mesh was defective.
The law gives patients three types of defects that can form the basis of a product liability claim. Patients have alleged all three types of defects in the tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against hernia mesh manufacturers.
Design Defect
A product has a design defect if it has no safe use. In other words, a design defect means that even the concept of the product causes harm to patients.
Hernia mesh lawsuits have alleged that the product included a memory coil ring that could break under normal use and injure patients.
Manufacturing Defect
Manufacturing defects can be present when a product leaves the factory without meeting the design specifications. Products with manufacturing defects may be designed correctly but feature flaws introduced in the factory.
Lawsuits against hernia mesh makers allege that the hernia mesh products failed to use medical-grade plastics, endangering patients as a result.
Marketing Defect
All medical products must include instructions for safe use. Hernia mesh lawsuits alleged that manufacturers failed to provide warnings about known complications from hernia mesh implants.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Houston Product Liability Lawyers To Discuss Filing a Hernia Mesh Lawsuit
Hernia mesh products have injured tens of thousands of patients, many of whom required additional surgery to repair the harm caused by the implants. Contact Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your hernia mesh implant and the compensation you can seek for your injuries.
