Posted by Marilyn McGoldrick on Jul 1, 2013 4:06:00 PM
Newly-unsealed confidential records show that C.R. Bard, Inc., knowingly ignored a part supplier’s direct warning that the plastic Bard was supplied with was unsuitable for human implantation. The revelation about Bard’s behavior comes as the surgical mesh manufacturer is embroiled in litigation over its defective implanted devices.
Bloomberg reports that managers at Bard’s Davol unit used a resin-based plastic made by a Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. Division in hernia-repair mesh. Bard used the plastic even after Chevron officially issued a warning that the plastic should not be permanently implanted in people, according to e-mails and documents in a lawsuit over Bard’s implants. A Davol executive wrote his colleagues warning them not to reveal they were using the plastic in implants:
Suppliers such as Chevron Phillips “will likely not be interested in a medical application due to product-liability concerns,” Roger Darois, the Davol executive, now a Bard vice president, said in a March 2004 e-mail. “It is likely they do not know of our implant application. Please do not mention Davol’s name in any discussion with these manufacturers.”
These emails and documents show that not only did Bard use the hazardous materials in its products, but Bard also tried to hide that information from both the supplier and patients who received the mesh. Lawyers for those injured by Bard’s surgical mesh believe the same mesh was used in some of Davol’s vaginal mesh implants, including the Avaulta line of mesh implants.
The first federal case against Bard will begin in court on July 8, 2013. In that case, a 54-year old woman claims that her transvaginal Bard mesh was defective and caused serious injuries. The injured woman’s claims will be tried before the Judge overseeing the consolidated federal litigation against Bard in West Virginia.
Over 20,000 lawsuits have been filed against mesh implants manufacturers Bard, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific Corp., Coloplast Corp. and Cook Medical Inc. claiming injuries caused by vaginal mesh implants.
Thornton Law Firm is actively litigating all types of transvaginal mesh cases against manufacturers across the country. If you have concerns over your vaginal mesh implant, you should talk to your doctor. If you have any questions about your legal rights, please contact our experienced Thornton Law Firm transvaginal mesh attorney Marilyn McGoldrick at 1-888-341-1405 or tell us your story using our online contact form.
