Lawyer Requests Multi-County Litigation in Strattice Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

Multi-County Litigation Requested For Strattice Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

On September 9, 2021, Robert Sandoval filed a lawsuit against LifeCell Corporation, Allergan, Inc., and Allergan USA, Inc., alleging he suffered injuries as a result of Strattice Hernia Mesh.

The lawsuit alleges that the Strattice Hernia Mesh product his doctor used during his surgery was defectively designed and manufactured. The lawsuit also claims that the defendants should have known the mesh was dangerous and had a duty to issue warnings about the risks and problems associated with the medical device.

To date, this is just one of many lawsuits victims have filed related to Strattice Hernia Mesh. In April 2021, the lawyers for Sandoval submitted an MCL application (multi-county litigation) requesting the court to centralize the similar lawsuits into one New Jersey State Court Litigation. At the time the application was submitted, there were at least 21 plaintiffs with cases pending in Morris County, NJ.

The attorneys submitted the MCL request based in part on the expectation that hundreds of additional cases will be filed against the defendants. According to the lawyers for the Sandoval, the “actions filed in New Jersey involve plaintiffs from a number of different states, including but not limited to Arizona, Ohio, California, Wisconsin and Texas. This geographical diversity makes centralized management necessary for the efficient handling of this litigation.” As people file more cases, centralization can ensure the parties do not waste time or money duplicating their efforts.

What is Strattice Hernia Mesh?

Doctors use surgical mesh in many procedures, including the repair of hernias. Hernia mesh is a surgical implant, the purpose of which is to support and strengthen weak tissue or muscle when a hernia breaks through it. There are many different types of hernia mesh. The Strattice Hernia Mesh involved in this litigation was designed to be an alternative to purely synthetic mesh.

LifeCell’s Strattice Hernia Mesh is biologic, meaning it contains materials made from animal or human cells. The Strattice Hernia Mesh is made from pigskin and is called a “cross-linked graft device.” The mesh and the tissue surrounding it are supposed to grow together, strengthening and reinforcing the area that was torn. The process is supposed to be seamless.

Why is Strattice Hernia Mesh Dangerous?

According to the lawsuits, cross-linked grafts can generally cause an increased risk of painful, dangerous infections and rejection of the implanted device. As of September 2020, the Food and Drug Administration received at least 450 Medical Device Reports linked to such problems caused by the Strattice Hernia Mesh. There were six reports of patient fatalities, approximately 340 reports of injuries, and more than 100 reports that indicated malfunctions of the mesh.

How Does Strattice Hernia Mesh Cause Injuries?

Because the mesh is a foreign object, your body might not accept it as readily as you are led to believe. Rejection of the device is only one potential complication from the Strattice Hernia Mesh. The mesh is also prone to breakage, erosion, and migration, all of which can result in painful injuries.

Some Strattice Hernia Mesh complications that have been reported are:

• organ punctures
• internal bleeding
• rejection of the device
• relocation or migration of the mesh away from the implantation site
• obstructions
• gastrointestinal distress
• severe pain
• fever
• infection
• painful intercourse
• nerve damage
• abdominal swelling
• abscess
• death

What Do Strattice Hernia Mesh Lawsuits Allege?

All of the Strattice lawsuits against Lifecell and Allergan seek to hold these companies responsible for the injuries caused by their Strattice Hernia Mesh. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits claim that these companies acted unlawfully by placing dangerous and defective products on the market and failing to warn of the dangers and risks of using Strattice Hernia Mesh.

In Robert Sandoval’s case, he had his initial hernia repair surgery in 2008, and his doctor implanted Strattice Hernia Mesh. In 2019, Sandoval returned to the hospital and was diagnosed with infected mesh. Sandoval was forced to endured another surgery to remove the infected Strattice Hernia Mesh. Sandoval is seeking damages for his pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, physical injuries, and economic losses.

Some of the specific allegations in Sandoval’s complaint include:

• That Strattice hernia mesh is defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous.
• That the defendants failed to adequately and properly warn the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff’s doctors about the risks and proper use of the Strattice hernia mesh
• That all the defendants were negligent in various ways
• That they all made negligent misrepresentations
• That the defendants engaged in fraud by intentionally misrepresenting and omitting information about the safety of the hernia mesh

If all the complaints filed thus far contain similar allegations and facts, the court will likely centralize the litigation in a single NJ county.

Alonso Krangle, LLP is Reviewing Claims for People Injured by Strattice Hernia Mesh

Did you have surgery to repair a hernia? Did your doctor use hernia mesh? Did you suffer pain or other injuries and have to have more surgery to remove the mesh or fix the damage it caused?
If so, call Alonso Krangle, LLP today to find out if you are eligible to file a lawsuit against LifeCell or Allergan, the makers of these defective medical devices.

Call Alonso Krangle, LLP, today at 1800-403-6191 for a free evaluation of your Strattice Hernia Mesh claim.