Lawsuits on Physiomesh Injuries and Deaths Take Aim at Ethicon

The number of lawsuits filed over Physiomesh injuries and deaths has risen to 92 with as many as 800 complications reported by users of the medical device.

Physiomesh is used to repair hernias. However, reports of injuries are growing and the device is linked to at least nine deaths.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reports the number of pending lawsuits rose to 92 since the MDL was created earlier this year.

Physiomesh is manufactured by Ethicon, a subsidiary of the giant drug company Johnson & Johnson, a company facing numerous lawsuits.

Since Physiomesh was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010, medical professionals reported 839 adverse events associated with Physiomesh, a device made of polypropylene which is used to repair hernias.

Although the mesh was manufactured to stop hernias from re-opening, research suggests the product degrades.

Physiomesh has a higher rate of hernia re-opening and recurrence in patients using the device as compared to patients using similar devices.

A graphic example of the terrible side-effects of Physiomesh is provided by Righting Injustice.

Kathy Edwards from Georgia is suing Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Ethicon over the death of her husband William Stanley Edwards.

She blames Physiomesh for the death. In June 2015, Mr. Edwards underwent surgery for an incarcerated ventral hernia at a Georgia hospital. The surgeons used Physiomesh to bridge the hernia in an attempt to repair it.

Less than a month after the original procedure, Mr. Edwards went back to the hospital. He suffered severe abdominal pain and excessive fluid buildup in his lower legs and feet. In the months that followed he suffered extreme pain.

Mr. Edwards underwent another ventral hernia repair surgery for a suspected incarcerated small bowel. He was requiring surgery to remove infected and dead tissue. The doctors said Physiomesh led to the infection after finding it had not incorporated properly into his body. He died in January 2017 of respiratory failure, acute renal failure, and septic shock.

In a case in Alabama, a man claimed the much product left him with serious injuries and permanent scarring.

We are increasingly concerned about Physiomesh injuries and deaths in light of these revelations.

Ethicon has faced about 3,000 lawsuits over similar with a related product – the company’s Proceed polypropylene transvaginal mesh. We have previously noted the serious complications of transvaginal mesh products in women.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one due to a dangerous medical device, please call our experienced Virginia defective products lawyers today at (757) 333-3333.