Early this month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) began hearing arguments on consolidating lawsuits brought forth by patients who suffered injury stemming from using the C-Qur polypropylene surgical mesh. The mesh, which received FDA approval in March of 2009, is commonly used as part of a treatment plan to repair hernias and other types of traumatic injury and chest wall reconstruction. The product’s manufacturing company, Atrium Medical Corporation, claims that the product is coated with fish oil to serve as an “adhesion barrier” that is meant to prevent scar tissue from forming on the repair site, which can fuse to other muscles and organs. Some patients, however, have been experiencing inflammation, infection, and other complications that require multiple corrective surgeries.
Failure to Warn and Negligence
In one case, a patient who received the Atrium C-Qur mesh in May of 2012 was placed in an intensive care unit for possible ischemic bowel and restricted blood flow less than a year after his hernia repair surgery and implementation of the mesh. The lawsuit, which accuses the company of failure to warn, strict liability, and negligence, lists a number of reasons as to why the product is defective – the mesh is found to break down over time, which can cause internal tissue to begin degrading.
The FDA first issued a warning letter to Atrium in 2012, alleging that Atrium failed to respond to countless patient complaints. The warning also accused the company of failing to properly review or investigate incidents pertaining to C-QUR failures and infections.
According to studies published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, surgical mesh does in fact reduce the risk of reopertation, compared to non-mesh hernia repair treatments. The study also showed, however, that mesh increases the risk of long-term complications.
If you or a loved one has been injured by the C-Qur surgical mesh or any other defective medical device, we invite you to contact a trusted Greenville personal injury attorney from Christian & Christian today. We have 95 years of combined legal experience and provide award-winning advocacy.
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