Bard Ventralex ST Hernia Mesh Complications, Failure Result in Lawsuit Against Manufacturer

A California man indicates that he suffered serious and life-threatening health complications from hernia mesh manufactured by C.R. Bard and it’s Davol, Inc. subsidiary, alleging in a recently filed lawsuit that the Bard Ventralex ST mesh is defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by William Kamp in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on July 27, alleging that the manufacturers failed to warn consumers and the medical community that Bard hernia mesh included a coating that may cause an inflammatory response, and increase the risk of failure.

Kamp indicates that he underwent laparoscopic umbilical hernia repair surgery in February 2016, during which the Bard Ventralex ST mesh was implanted inside his body. Only a few months later, it was clear that the hernia mesh had failed, and Kamp had to undergo revision surgery to have it removed.

When his surgeon removed the Ventralex ST mesh, he discovered a buildup of fluid consisting of serum and puss had collected around the mesh.

The Bard Ventralex is a self-expanding patch that contains two layers of polypropylene mesh, which are stitched together with polytetrafluorethylene monofilament to an expanded polytetrafluorethylene sheet. However, Kamp claims that an impermeable coating of the Bard Ventralex mesh prevents fluid escape, which leads to seroma formation, which can in turn cause infection or abscess formation, as well as other complications.

“Scientific evidence shows that the ST coating, which is not used in any other hernia mesh product sold in the United States, incites an intense inflammatory response, leading to encapsulation, deformation, scarification and contraction, migration, excess adhesion formation, erosion and rejection,” the lawsuit states. “The impermeable ST coating inhibits proper tissue ingrowth and causes a tissue reaction that provides a breeding ground for infection and excessive adhesion type reactions. This ST coating also causes immunogenic response, and was known to be cytotoxic.”

Kamp’s lawsuit joins a growing number of similar product liability claims filed over the Bard Ventralex mesh and other polypropylene products, including Atrium C-Qur lawsuits and Ethicon Physiomesh lawsuits.

On April 10, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion to centralize the Bard hernia mesh lawsuits before a single judge in the Southern District of Ohio, as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will hear oral arguments on the proposed consolidation in late July.

Similar centralized proceedings have already been established for Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuits and Atrium C-Qur mesh lawsuits, each of which already involve several hundred claims.

As lawyer continue to review and file cases in the coming months and years, it is ultimately expected that close to 10,000 lawsuits may eventually be filed by individuals nationwide.