Can I Pursue a Hernia Mesh Injury Lawsuit?
Each year, there are more than 100,000 hernia surgeries performed in the United States, and around 80% of these surgeries now include the implantation of hernia mesh. In a majority of cases, hernia repair surgery is relatively uneventful, with most patients making a complete recovery after their procedures, but in other cases, the hernia is repaired using polypropylene mesh, which can potentially lead to severe health complications, like adhesions, small bowel obstructions, infections, erosion, or mesh rejection. When these conditions arise, patients may require additional surgery. Recent studies have found that the use of these meshes is often not advisable, yet these products continue to be marketed and used, despite known their known issues and potential adverse health effects.
The law firm of Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC has currently accepting cases by those injured by defective hernia mesh, regardless of the manufacturer. We have previously represented plaintiffs against hernia mesh maker Ethicon — a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson — in lawsuits involving Ethicon’s Physiomesh® and Proceed® brand surgical mesh.
If you or a loved one has undergone repair surgery for mesh failure, loosening, migrating, or if your mesh has become infected or eroded into organs, you should consult with a New Jersey personal injury attorney to discuss potential options for compensation. If you aren’t aware of the manufacturer of the mesh that failed, we can help you determine the manufacturer of the failed mesh. In order to obtain a case evaluation, contact our offices today to discuss potential legal options with an attorney at Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC.
What Is Hernia Mesh?
Hernia mesh is a surgical implant that is used during hernia repair surgery to provide increased support to weakened muscle or connective tissue. Hernias happen when a muscle or connective tissue weaken or develop holes, and an organ, intestine, or fatty tissue breaks through the hole or the weakened area.
Hernia mesh is a screen-like device that is made of either synthetic or animal-source materials. Hernia mesh products are manufactured by a variety of different companies, such as Boston Scientific, Atrium Medical, Ethicon, Bard, and Covidien — a subsidiary of Medtronic. Experience with modern hernia mesh implantation goes all the way back to the 1950s, but the use of hernia mesh did not become a medical standard for repairing hernias until recently in the late 1980s due to the introduction of new surgical techniques.
Surgeons can implant either an absorbable or a non-absorbable hernia mesh during the operation. Absorbable hernia mesh is designed to break down over time and disappear shortly after the surgery, while non-absorbable hernia mesh is designed to be a permanent implant in the patient’s body.
Consequently, the use of permanent hernia mesh products, including Ethicon’s Physiomesh and Proceed, has been connected with a high incidence of adverse health effects and complications, like:
- Chronic pain
- Adhesion — when mesh adheres to an organ or scar-like tissue, sticking two organs together
- Fistula — an abnormal connection between organs, vessels, or intestines
- Bowel or intestinal blockage
- Infection
- Hernia recurrence
- Hernia mesh migration
- Hernia mesh rejection
These are severe complications that often require hospitalization and additional surgery to correct any adverse effects on the health of the patient.
Hernia Mesh Complications & Long-Term Risks
It’s been well documented that hernia mesh is at risk of migration, rejection, and adhesion. Complications caused by the use of hernia mesh products such as Bard’s Perfix Plug® and Ethicon’s Proceed could potentially leave to significant health problems, like bowel and intestinal blockage, mesh migration and erosion into bowels or organs, intestinal adhesions, infection, and hernia recurrence.
The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons has compiled a list of symptoms that are associated with complications from hernia surgery involving hernia mesh:
- Persistent fever exceeding 101 degrees
- Bleeding
- Increasing abdominal or groin swelling
- Pain that cannot be relieved by medications
- Nausea or vomiting
- Difficulty urinating
- Chills
- Persistent cough, shortness of breath
- Foul-smelling drainage (pus) from any incision
- Worsening redness surrounding your incisions
- Inability to eat or drink liquids
Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC is Here to Help
If you or a family member has undergone repair surgery for mesh failure, loosening, migration, or if your mesh has become infected or eroded into organs, you could be entitled to recovering lost compensation. If you aren’t sure of the manufacturer of the mesh that failed, we can help you find out that information. In order to receive a free case evaluation, contact the firm of Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC directly to discuss your case with a personal injury lawyer in New Jersey in order to fully understand all possible legal options available to you.
Hernia Mesh Personal Injury Lawyers
Hernia repair surgeries are extremely common, with more than one million happening each year in the United States. 800,000 are to repair inguinal hernias, and the remaining operations are for other types of hernias. There has been an increase in mesh-based hernia repairs since the 1980s, with non-mesh repairs representing less than 10% of groin hernia repair techniques as of 2000.
If you or a family member have had hernia mesh implanted and suffered an injury as a result, it is strongly advised that you seek counsel with our personal injury lawyers in Jersey City, who are extremely experienced in hernia mesh claims and injuries. Our legal team is are actively seeking hernia mesh settlements and filing surgical mesh lawsuits against manufacturers on behalf of patients who were injured by these potentially defective devices. If your surgery involved hernia mesh that has been recalled, or you are uncertain which type of surgical mesh was used in your surgery, our New Jersey hernia mesh attorneys can help you obtain that information from your surgeon or the medical facility where your surgery was performed.
At Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, we believe in holding drug and medical device manufacturers liable when their products improperly endanger the public. Our hernia mesh lawyers have years of experience handling mass torts litigation cases and negotiating with medical device and pharmaceutical settlement representatives. If you believe you have a case related to a defective hernia mesh, speak with one of our surgical mesh attorneys today by giving us a call at (201) 997- 0030.
