Atrium C-Qur Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Plaintiffs May File Directly in Federal Litigation

Published on March 5, 2019 by Sandy Liebhard

Hernia mesh lawsuits involving Atrium Medical’s C-Qur implants continue to move forward in the multidistrict litigation currently underway in the U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire.

According to an Order dated February 19^th, new hernia mesh lawsuit plaintiffs may now file their cases directly in New Hampshire. Direct filing will promote judicial efficiency by eliminating delays associated with the transfer of claims from other jurisdictions.

The Order applies to any Atrium C-Qur hernia mesh lawsuit that would be eligible for transfer to the multidistrict litigation. However, Defendants do reserve the right to object to the inclusion of any case in the proceeding.

Additionally, direct filing will not impact choice of law, including the statute of limitations, that otherwise would apply to an individual hernia mesh lawsuit when originally filed in another district court.

Atrium Hernia Mesh Lawsuit Allegations

At least 1,077 hernia mesh lawsuits are pending in the multidistrict litigation underway in New Hampshire.

Atrium C-Qur mesh is constructed from polypropylene coated with an Omega-3 barrier. This design purportedly reduces the risk of adhesions and facilitates fixation to the abdominal wall. However, hernia mesh lawsuit plaintiffs claim the Omega-3 coating can actually triggered an inflammatory response that could potentially lead to graft rejection and migration, organ damage, complex seroma, fistula, sinus tract formation, delayed wound closure, infection, sepsis, and even death.

The lawsuits further assert that the polypropylene used in Atrium C-Qur hernia mesh is incompatible with human tissue. As such, it may also trigger an immune response that causes mesh degradation and other serious complications.

Atrium Medical is a subsidiary of Getinge AB. Last October, the company reported that it had set aside $200 million (SEK 1.8 billion) to cover costs associated with the growing litigation.

Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Litigation

Atrium is just one medical device maker dealing with product liability claims over polypropylene hernia mesh implants.

Ethicon, Inc., for example, is facing nearly 2,000 cases involving its Physiomesh Flexible Composite mesh products, most of which are pending are centralized in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia. The company withdrew those implants from the global market in March 2016.

An additional 235 federally-filed hernia mesh lawsuits involving C.R. Bard, Inc.’s polypropylene implants are undergoing centralized pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.