A U.S. District Judge has scheduled the third transvaginal mesh trial against American Medical Systems (AMS) for August 19th, 2014. The first two trials have been scheduled for December 3rd, 2013 and May 6th, 2014.

More than 36,000 lawsuits crowd the federal court system from dissatisfied customers who thought a transvaginal mesh system or incontinence bladder sling would solve woes from pelvic organ prolapse.

Instead, the plaintiffs are filing claims against AMS, Boston Scientific, Coloplast Corp., Cook Medical, C.R. Bard and Ethicon, claiming that the mesh eroded within weeks or months of surgery, causing immense pain, recurrence of urinary incontinence and the need for subsequent surgeries.

MDLs promise coordinated litigation – but will it be fast enough?

Six different transvaginal mesh MDLs have been established in the federal court system under U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia. MDLs help eliminate duplicate discovery, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings, and organize the tremendous glut of claims against manufacturers. In each of the MDLs, a series of early bellwether cases have been scheduled to help parties determine how juries are likely to respond to testimony and evidence presented.

Sometimes the defendants opt to settle the cases outside court. Other times, the rest of the cases proceed through the courts. Even though MDLs encourage faster court proceedings, it may not seem fast enough for plaintiffs who have mounting medical bills.

The litigation involving transvaginal mesh devices has been building since October 2008, when the U.S. Food & Drug Administration first issued a Public Health Alert regarding vaginal mesh complications. For this reason, transvaginal mesh lawsuit loans have become popular.

Transvaginal mesh MDL recap

The transvaginal mesh MDLs include:

• MDL 2187 – C.R. Bard Products Pelvic Repair System Liability Litigation: 5,275 suits
• MDL 2325 – AMS Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation: 11,369 suits
• MDL 2326 – Boston Scientific Corp Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation: 7,131 suits
• MDL 2327 – Ethicon Inc Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation: 11,376 suits
• MDL 2387 – Coloplast Corp Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation: 1,101 suits
• MDL 2440 – Cook Medical Inc Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation: 133 suits

As of November 2013, a total of 36,385 lawsuits have been consolidated in the federal MDLs.

Early transvaginal mesh verdicts appear promising

In February 2013, Johnson & Johnson paid a whopping $11.1 million jury award to a woman so harmed by their vaginal mesh product that she needed 18 surgeries to fix her complications.

A Bakersfield woman won a $5.5 million award in her case against C.R. Bard in July 2012. A West Virginia court awarded a third plaintiff $2 million in the second C.R. Bard lawsuit held in August 2013. The company settled an additional case for an undisclosed sum outside of court.

Over the summer, Endo Health Solutions – parent company of American Medical Systems — agreed to pay $54.5 million in settlements to plaintiffs, so it’s believed many cases may not make it to trial.

Advantages of pelvic mesh legal funding

With such complex litigation, it may be a long time before plaintiffs see compensation, whether through a settlement or a jury award. Some plaintiffs may feel discouraged or reluctant to sue at all. They may feel like they have enough to worry about, with the tidal wave of medical bills, mortgage payments, daily living expenses, and emotional stress from their injuries. That’s where legal funding comes in.

Law Street Capital offers no-risk transvaginal mesh lawsuit loans to people who have filed their claims and are now caught in limbo, waiting for court proceedings. Our team will assess your case. If approved, you will receive a pre settlement cash advance now and are free to use the funds however you please. Best of all, you only pay us back once you have won compensation. If you lose the case, don’t worry – you don’t have to pay us anything!

Call Law Street Capital today at 1.866.FUND.662 for a confidential chat with one of our customer representatives specializing in pelvic mesh legal funding.