Frequently Asked Questions about C-QUR™ Hernia Mesh

If you have been injured due to the use of the C-QUR Mesh in your hernia repair surgery, you are entitled to seek compensation for your injuries, including for medical bills and lost income, as well as for your pain and suffering.

Ken Stern and the attorneys of Stern Law, PLLC, handle faulty surgical mesh cases for injured patients and their families from across the United States. Defective medical device claims are complex, and they often require taking on large corporations. You need an attorney with the resources and determination to pursue these challenging cases. Stern Law has demanded justice on behalf of many people facing difficult situations such as this.

Our legal representation is personalized and uniquely tailored to address the needs and concerns of each of our clients. Let Stern Law stand strong for you.

What is Atrium C-QUR™ Hernia Mesh?

The C-QUR™ Mesh (pronounced “secure”) is a trademarked hernia mesh sold by medical device company Atrium Medical Corporation. The mesh is a medical device that has been used in hernia repair and other surgeries since 2006.

The C-QUR is one of a number of hernia mesh products that have led to injuries and complications in people who have had the product surgically implanted.

What does the C-QUR Mesh do?

According to Atrium Medical, the C-QUR mesh is intended to be used for hernia repair, chest wall reconstruction, traumatic or surgical wounds, and other surgical intervention procedures that need reinforcement with a non-absorbable supportive material.

The mesh is made from polypropylene and has an Omega-3 gel coating that was designed to prevent the mesh from sticking to abdominal walls. Unfortunately, changes in humidity and sterilization procedures have resulted in the Omega-3 coating not sticking to the mesh as intended, among other problems.

Polypropylene is a polymer plastic that is known to have some issues that can cause problems inside a person’s body. Problems include shrinkage and erosion of the plastic, as well as triggering a foreign body reaction or infection.

Who makes the C-QUR?

Atrium Medical Corporation develops, manufactures, and distributes the C-QUR hernia mesh worldwide. Atrium is a privately owned medical device company founded in 1981 in Hudson, New Hampshire. It also has locations in Sydney, New South Wales, and SL Mijdrecht, the Netherlands.

Swedish company Getinge Group and its subsidiary, Maquet Cardiovascular, a cardiovascular technologies company, acquired Atrium in 2011 in a $680 million deal.

Atrium manufactures and distributes more than 2.7 million medical products in over 60 countries each year.

What kinds of injuries has the C-QUR mesh caused?

The C-QUR hernia mesh has caused complications in patients due to reactions to the Omega-3 fish oil coating, reactions to the polypropylene mesh, problems with sterilization, degradation of the mesh over time, and issues with the mesh becoming stuck in internal organs.

According to Atrium, the Omega-3 gel coating on the C-QUR mesh is supposed to prevent it from adhering to the bowel. Some doctors have reported that the coating slips off the mesh upon implantation or within days.

Plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation case (MDL) allege that Atrium’s mesh adheres to the bowel and other organs, causing:

Ulcers
Infections
Bowel obstructions
Chronic groin pain
Nerve damage
Organ perforation
Other complications

Some of the injuries cause by the mesh can take years to manifest themselves.

How did the C-QUR hernia mesh become popular?

Production and distribution was somewhat limited until Atrium signed a three-year contract with Premier, Inc., a group purchasing organization that supplies more than 1,000 hospitals, in 2010. After getting the contract with Premier, the hernia mesh began to be implanted nationwide at a much higher rate.

Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) allow hospitals to theoretically increase their buying power by buying at a discount with a group of other hospitals or practices. So Atrium would sell the hernia mesh in bulk quantities to Premier, which would then sell it to hospitals.

Is the C-QUR mesh still being produced?

A 2015 injunction sought by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prevents Atrium from manufacturing or distributing the C-QUR mesh and a few other products until it resolves multiple violations involving its sterilization and storage processes and responding to complaints. However, a Class I recall has not been issued, so some hospitals that still have the C-QUR mesh are still implanting it.

What is being done about the C-QUR hernia mesh?

A number of lawsuits have been filed against Atrium Medical, Maquet, and the Getinge Group nationwide, for injuries including hernia recurrence, adhesions, infections, allergic reactions to the fish oil coating, and other abdominal injuries and complications.

Occasionally when a company is being named in a number of complex lawsuits for the same product or complaint, a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) will be established to consolidate the lawsuits and allow common questions of fact and discovery to proceed together before the same judge. This process can help litigation reach a resolution more quickly and eliminate duplicate discovery.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established an MDL for the C-QUR hernia mesh in December 2016, grouping together nearly two dozen individual lawsuits. As of April 17, 2017, there are 27 cases that are part of the MDL. The cases will be heard by U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty in the District of New Hampshire.

Some of the allegations include:

Designing and distributing a defective and dangerous medical device
Failure to conduct adequate research on the mesh
Failure to investigate reports of product complications
Failure to warn about the risk of injury
Failure to recall mesh after problems were reported

What can I do if I have been injured because of the C-QUR mesh?

You may seek compensation for the harm you have suffered by filing a product liability claim against the manufacturers of the C-QUR mesh. You may be entitled to seek compensation for:

Medical costs
Lost wages
Out-of-pocket expenses

Emotional trauma
Pain and suffering

Stern Law can help you. We work with a network of lawyers experienced in medical product liability, medical malpractice, and personal injury cases. We investigate cases and move forward with a focus on addressing our clients’ concerns and advocating for their interests.

A product liability claim involving a hernia mesh injury starts with a free and confidential evaluation of your legal options. If we believe that you have a valid claim, we will obtain your medical records and start investigating.