Boston Scientific Sued Over Vaginal Mesh Implants
Yet another vaginal mesh lawsuit was filed on January 7, 2013, when plaintiff Barbara McIntosh sued Boston Scientific over the side effects that were linked to her transvaginal mesh device implant.
In her lawsuit, McIntosh states that the implant caused her to experience numerous side effects that have been linked to the device. The side effects linked to the device include infections, vaginal scarring, painful intercourse and erosion. There are numerous vaginal mesh devices made by just as many manufacturers. Boston Scientific’s vaginal mesh device is called the Lynx Sling. The device is used to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POPS). Both conditions are caused by childbirth and menopause. McIntosh’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
This lawsuits joins thousands of others that have been filed across the country over various vaginal mesh devices. Devices made by companies such as C.R. Bard, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon and Coloplast have also been subject to lawsuits filed by users and their families over the injuries. Most often, the vaginal mesh devices require surgical removal to correct. Sometimes more than one surgery has to be performed to correct the complications, but many patients end up with a lifetime of pain.
Almost all of the lawsuits filed over vaginal mesh device complications like the Lynx Sling claim that the manufacturers purposely hid the dangers linked to their devices from the public and healthcare professionals alike. One of the first such lawsuits to reach a courtroom began on January 10, 2013; filed by woman against Ethicon, the Honorable Judge Carol E. Higbee is presiding. While Ethicon’s vaginal sling is the first to hit the market, others like the Lynx Sling are just as dangerous as the original device. When Boston Scientific filed for (510)K approval of the device, the company did so under the claim that the Lynx device was similar to Ethicon’s version, which is all the law requires. The problem with that is that while the device can be sold on the market before clinical trials have been completed, it also means that the device’s dangers also get approved. This is how so many companies’ vaginal mesh devices have harmed patients. This is also why thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers.
