Women Receiving Vaginal Mesh Settlements May Benefit from Settlement Funding
Some women who were injured by transvaginal mesh have recently received compensation through lawsuit settlements. After years of waiting through a lengthy legal process, women who brought claims against mesh manufacturers like Ethicon, C. J. Bard, American Medical Systems (AMS), Boston Scientific, and others, are finally starting to see the rewards of their efforts.
A substantial settlement can go a long way toward helping to cover medical costs, therapy expenses, lost wages, and other financial burdens. Most settlements are actually delivered through structured settlement agreements, however, that are paid out over time. Women who have suffered severe medical traumas may not receive enough in structured settlement payments to cover large debts accrued after the injury. In these cases, structured settlement funding may be a welcome option.
Transvaginal mesh linked with serious complications
Transvaginal mesh is used in some surgeries for the repair of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), a condition in which a woman’s pelvic muscles become too weakened and stretched to properly support pelvic organs like the bladder, bowel, and urethra. These organs can then drop or fall into the vaginal wall, causing symptoms like stress urinary incontinence (SUI), pressure, and uncomfortable intercourse.
Surgeons use mesh to help shore up and support pelvic organs back in their original positions. Some women are helped by this procedure, but many experienced serious side effects like erosion, bleeding, infections, protrusion, pain, and pain during intercourse. In 2011, the FDA warned that complications with transvaginal mesh were not rare.
Lawsuits mount around the country
In the years leading up to and after the FDA warning, women who had suffered injuries from transvaginal mesh filed lawsuits to recover damages. In February 2012, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized all federal lawsuits in the Southern District of West Virginia to increase efficiency of pre-trial proceedings.
Now, at least one of those companies has announced settlements in some of these lawsuits. AMS, which is a subsidiary of Endo Health Solutions (ENDP), has agreed to settlements resolving a portion of the thousands of cases pending against them.
According to a June article in Bloomberg, ENDP agreed to pay $54.5 million to some plaintiffs alleging AMS vaginal mesh implants eroded and left them suffering side effects like incontinence and pain. There was no indication as to how many of the lawsuits are affected, but it is believed that thousands will still be left unresolved.
The Master Settlement Agreement was completed June 14, 2013. ENDP reiterates that the agreement was entered into “solely by way of compromise and settlement and is not in any way an admission of liability or fault by the Company or AMS.”
Transvaginal mesh lawsuit settlement loans
Though the details of this settlement will be kept confidential, it is common for large awards to be delivered not as one lump sum, but in a structured settlement paid out over time. This creates tax advantages for the recipients, and also safeguards against unwise financial decisions.
Still, women who are facing mountains of debt after years in litigation may need more money to clear the ledger and start over. Transvaginal mesh lawsuit settlement loans work like cash advances against the entire settlement amount, allowing women to withdraw the amount they need from the settlement now, rather than later.
Might structured settlement funding work for you?
If you have received a settlement from a transvaginal mesh or other lawsuit and you need more money than the structured settlement allows, call LawStreet Capital today at 800-345-8500, and ask about structured settlement funding. We have some of the lowest rates in the industry and provide fast approvals with no credit checks.
