What to Know Before Filing an Abdominal Mesh Lawsuit

There are currently thousands of ongoing lawsuits involving abdominal mesh in the US, filed by patients who underwent surgery involving mesh products to fix hernias or other problems, but whose procedures ended up causing them more pain and harm.

If you’ve gone through a similar procedure and suffered injuries resulting from mesh products, here’s what you should know before filing an abdominal mesh lawsuit.

What Is Abdominal Mesh?

Abdominal mesh—also known as hernia mesh, surgical mesh, or transvaginal mesh—is a mesh device implanted in the abdomen, groin, or stomach area to support tissue that suffers from integrity and functionality issues. One of its most common uses is to repair hernias.

The mesh is connected to the muscle tissue within the cavity and is intended to correct the injury or weakness, or to ease issues related to hernias and reduce hernia occurrences.

Hernias occur when part of the fatty tissue in the abdominal area or portions of the intestine push through a hole or a weak area around the connective tissue in the abdomen. There are several types of hernias, including:

• Inguinal
• Femoral
• Incisional
• Ventral 
• Umbilical 
• Hiatal 

One of the reasons abdominal mesh has been used to treat hernias is that it dramatically reduces recurrence, which is a primary problem with hernia repair. However, using abdominal mesh poses a range of medical risks and problems.

Common Abdominal Mesh Injuries or Concerns

There’s a wide range of issues caused by abdominal mesh; however, the most common occurrences are infection, pain, bowel obstruction, adhesion, and hernia recurrence.

Individually, these issues can cause many symptoms such as swelling, gas, trouble urinating, and flu-like symptoms. Sometimes, patients noticed a stiffness in their abdomen.

The instance of hernia recurrence is related to the failure of the mesh. It degrades and allows the hernia to dislodge and create additional issues.

People with hernia injuries have reduced capacity to participate in everyday activities and may have unbearable pain and dangerous complications because of infection. Some cases are  even life threatening. 

The Recall of Mesh Products

Several hernia mesh products were recalled after many reports of complications. The hernia mesh recalls include:

• Genitrix Surgical Matrix
• Atrium Medical C_QUR Mesh
• Bard Composix Kugel Hernia Patch 
• Ethicon Proceed Surgical Mesh

There has also been at least one more product that was withdrawn from the market rather than being recalled.

You Can Collect Surgical Mesh Compensation

If you’re a patient with surgical mesh who has encountered complications because of a surgical procedure that used abdominal mesh, you may have the right to compensation for expenses and damages.

Most of these cases require corrective surgery and downtime. Many patients also incur permanent damage and disability.

Patients who have suffered injury due to a mesh implantation could pursue lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, medical bills, and damages. Although many cases are ongoing, the outlook for collecting compensation for well-documented cases is good.

Necessary Documentation for Your Abdominal Mesh Case

To get started with filing a claim for damages or to collect compensation resulting from abdominal mesh injuries and complications, you need to get all your documents and submit them to an attorney specializing in these cases. The documentation you need includes:

• Mesh implant manufacturer
• Date of surgery
• Medical appointment details
• All medical documentation related to the case

Once you have all the documentation, your attorney can get started with the claims process.

Get Help Filing Your Abdominal Mesh Claim

If you plan to file a claim related to injuries or complications resulting from abdominal mesh, reach out to the experienced hernia mesh lawyers at Napoli Shkolnik. We’ll help you fight your case to get the compensation needed to cover expenses related to a complication resulting from abdominal mesh.