Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Lawsuit Set for Trial to Begin Today

The first trial out of about 3,000 Kugel mesh lawsuits is set to begin today in federal court, involving allegations that a defective hernia patch caused a Missouri man to suffer severe internal injuries. 

The Kugel mesh hernia patch trial, which involves a claim filed by plaintiff John Whitfield, will be held in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island before Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi, who is presiding over pretrial litigation for all federal cases involving similar allegations.

The case is the first of four “bellwether” Kugel patch trials, which parties and the court will try to use to gauge how juries will respond to evidence and witness testimony that may be presented throughout the other cases in the Kugel mesh litigation.

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During a hernia repair surgery in January 2004, Whitfield had a Kugel patch implanted that was manufactured by Davol, Inc., a division of C.R. Bard, Inc. At some point after it was implanted, the hernia patch allegedly broke inside his body and caused Whitfield to develop multiple and severe injuries after it became intertwined with his hernia. The mesh allegedly caused bowel obstructions, severe abdominal pain and swelling, nausea, sickness, permanent bowel disfigurement, and other problems.

Eventually, Davol and C.R. Bard issued a Kugel mesh recall for the hernia patch model that was implanted in Whitfield as a result of multiple reports of similar problems. Between 2005 and 2007, three separate recalls for Kugel mesh were issued for different sizes and models of the hernia patch. The recalls were issued because of problems with a plastic ring in the mesh that was prone to break, potentially causing bowel perforations, chronic intestinal fistula and other internal injuries that often require additional surgery to remove the mesh.

Whitfield is charging Davol with several counts of negligence, breach of warranty and liability, seeking compensation for medical expenses, permanent disfigurement, economic losses, and pain and suffering. He is also seeking punitive damages against the company for what the lawsuit claims was a complete indifference or conscious disregard for the safety of others.

Whitfield’s trial is one of more than 1,300 which have been consolidated and centralized under Lisi as part of a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. There are also another 1,774 hernia mesh lawsuits which have been filed in Rhode Island Superior Court, on the state level, under Presiding Justice Alice B. Gibney. The first of those lawsuits is expected to go to trial in July

According to earlier reports, there have been a handful of Kugel mesh settlements confidentially reached in individual cases. The outcome of the bellwether Kugel trials could impact how the remaining cases are resolved, potentially resulting in an attempt to reach a global settlement of the litigation.

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3 Comments

  • SonjiJanuary 23, 2015 at 1:36 am

    I HAD THREE HERNIA MESH PLACE IN MY STOMACH FOR THE 3 HERNIA I SUFFER WITH CHRONIC PAIN . I ALSO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MY BILES , WHEN I TOLD THE DOCTOR ABOUT THE PAIN HE REFUSE TO HELP ME . HE TOLD ME HE DONT BELIEVE MY PAIN IS COMMING FROM THE MESH . HE ALSO SAID THE PAIN ISNT COMMING FROM MY GALL STONES. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME PLEASE.

  • RAFAELNovember 5, 2010 at 8:00 pm

    I ve had the intestinal surgery and hernia appeared as a result of this procedure. I ve been suffering from it for 5-6 months and it came to the point that another surgery is needed to remove the hernia. I am not a healthy person and to go under the general anesthesia puts me in a lot of risk.

  • dorothyApril 23, 2010 at 10:47 pm

    I suffered from bowel problems that went into my stomach and i was throwing up bowels for weeks. I were three bags on my sides to release waste. I also caught staff infection about a week after surgery and kept it almost to febuary 2006. Where i had a second surgery they put another line in me which black blood ran out of me for 14 days.Then i had to be drain with neadles in the doctors office wee[Show More]I suffered from bowel problems that went into my stomach and i was throwing up bowels for weeks. I were three bags on my sides to release waste. I also caught staff infection about a week after surgery and kept it almost to febuary 2006. Where i had a second surgery they put another line in me which black blood ran out of me for 14 days.Then i had to be drain with neadles in the doctors office weekly. In 2009 i had to have another surgery where they remove more waste and i have been in pain and i still have bowel problems. Now i have hepatitis c which the doctor said i caught during surgery. Will i ever see a settlement?

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