On August 22, 2017, an Oregon woman filed a Physiomesh lawsuit against manufacturers Ethicon and parent company Johnson & Johnson (J&J). She claims that after being implanted with Ethicon’s hernia mesh, she suffered serious injuries.
The case was filed in The United States District Court for the District of Oregon, but was transferred to the Northern District of Georgia where all federally-filed Physiomesh lawsuits have been coordinated.
After Implantation with Physiomesh, Plaintiff Goes Through Multiple Corrective Surgeries
According to the complaint, the plaintiff underwent surgery to implant Physiomesh on September 3, 2015. The surgery was an attempt to repair her recurrent incisional hernia, which is a bulge of tissues and/or muscles protruding through a weakened area in a previous abdominal incision. The procedure was performed at the OSV Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon.
The plaintiff states that after the surgery she started to experience severe pain and significant bleeding, among other symptoms. On September 4, 2015—a day after the original surgery—she underwent another procedure to reduce the swelling and stop the bleeding.
Then, on October 27, 2015, she was admitted to the medical center again. This time, doctors performed a CT-guided procedure to remove fluid from the abdominal area where a seroma (pocket of fluid) had formed after the hernia repair.
About a year later, on September 28, 2016, the plaintiff was back in the hospital again. Doctors found that the Physiomesh had adhered or “stuck to” multiple areas of her small bowel. She had to undergo another surgery that lasted two to three hours, during which doctors dissected and attempted to free up enough bowel so they could remove the Physiomesh. When they finished, the implanted a new mesh product to again repair the hernia.
Plaintiff Suffers Lengthy Ordeal with Physiomesh
Unfortunately for the plaintiff, that wasn’t the end of her ordeal. On February 24, 2017, she was readmitted to the medical center because of the recurrent incisional hernia. She was also suffering other symptoms including pain, nausea, and a bulge in her abdominal area.
Doctors found that the Physiomesh implanted in the plaintiff seemed to have disintegrated and that some of her bowels were as bulging through the remaining mesh. Doctors removed the mesh from the surface of the underlying bowel.
Plaintiff Blames Physiomesh Design for Hernia Repair Complications
The plaintiff blames Physiomesh for her difficulties. She states that the product’s unique 5-layer design—the only one of its kind on the market—prevents adequate incorporation of the mesh into the body, causes an intense inflammatory reaction, encourages damage to surrounding tissue, and delays proper healing.
She adds that when the Physiomesh is implanted, it prevents fluid to escape, which leads to the formation of seromas (pockets of fluid), like those she suffered. These pockets can also encourage the buildup of bacteria, leading to infections.
The plaintiff brings counts of defective design and manufacture, failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranties, and misrepresentation. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $75,000.
Exclusively focused on representing plaintiffs, especially in mass tort litigation, Eric Chaffin prides himself on providing unsurpassed professional legal services in pursuit of the specific goals of his clients and their families. Both his work and his cases have been featured in the national press, including on ABC’s Good Morning America.
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