Frequently Asked Questions About Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
It is not uncommon to be sitting on your couch while watching television when a commercial advertises for a lawsuit for a defective product. Only, this time, you identified with the product, and that product wasn’t just a product, it was a product that was implanted inside of you with the purpose to help you start living your life again and reduce your pain. You’re not alone. Hernia Mesh defects have affected countless people from all walks of life. So, you may be asking, “how did we get here?” or maybe even, “where do we go from here?” We understand this is a complex and life-altering event in many circumstances, so we hope to shed some light on what the hernia mesh lawsuits are and how they may affect you.
What is a Hernia Anyway?
A hernia “occurs when an internal organ or other body part protrudes through the wall of muscle or tissue that normally contains it” (Cleveland Clinic). The FDA clarifies this by explaining that it occurs when an organ, intestine, or fatty tissue squeezes through a hole or a weak spot in the surrounding muscle or connective tissue. A combination of factors such as pressure and an opening or a weakness of the muscle or the connective tissue can cause hernias and they occur in common areas. The specific types of hernia based on where they occur are:
- Inguinal: inner groin area
- Femoral: upper thigh/outer groin
- Incisional: through an incision or scar in the abdomen
- Ventral: in the general abdominal or ventral wall
- Umbilical: at the belly button
- Hiatal: inside the abdomen, along the upper stomach/ diaphragm
What Is Hernia Mesh?
Hernia mesh is a medical device used to support the weakened or damaged tissue. Surgical mesh devices are composed either of synthetic material, which is either in a knitted mesh form or a non-knitted sheet form; or, it could be derived from animal tissue, usually intestine or skin, that is processed and disinfected for medical use. Synthetic meshes are non-absorbable meaning they will have to be removed at a later time, while animal derived meshes are absorbable and promote tissue reproduction.
Why Is My Hernia Mesh Causing Me Pain?
There are two ways to obtain approval for a product: Premarket Approval Process (PMA) and the 510(K) Approval Process. The PMA review is a strict process to obtain FDA approval to the market for a device. This process requires testing to prevent impairment of human health or than present a potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury, while the 501(K) process only requires that the new device is “substantially equivalent” to a device already approved. This allows for devices to enter the market without the proper testing. Injuries specific to hernia mesh’s alleged defective nature range from additional surgeries to repair or replace the original mesh, hernia recurrence, mesh shrinkage, infections, device breakage or fracture, mesh migration and more.
Brands that have been recalled and are common to cause these problems and problems of the like are: Bard, Ethicon, Covidien/ Medtronic, Atrium/Maquet, W.L. Gore, and Aspide, and were manufactured between 2006 and 2014.
While we understand this information can be frustrating, there are steps you can take to begin recovering damages and we can help you. Contact us today for more information on hernia mesh lawsuits.
