Do You Qualify For The C-QUR Lawsuit?

The C-QUR™ Mesh is a hernia mesh that was manufactured and distributed by Atrium Medical Corporation. It has been used in hernia repair and other surgeries since 2006. In 2015, an injunction by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stopped production of the mesh.

C-QUR is one of a number of hernia mesh products produced by different companies that have led to serious injuries and medical complications for surgical patients. Many of the faulty meshes have been recalled or are no longer being produced.

After the FDA obtained a permanent injunction in 2015 preventing Atrium from manufacturing or distributing its hernia mesh products, plaintiffs started filing lawsuits against Atrium and its parent companies, Maquet and Getinge Group, for injuries caused by C-QUR.

Understanding multidistrict litigation for C-QUR

Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Atrium Medical, Maquet, and the Getinge Group nationwide for injuries such as hernia recurrence, adhesions, infections, allergic reactions to the fish oil coating, and other abdominal injuries.

Sometimes, 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. This allows one judge to consider common questions of fact and helps the litigation reach a resolution more quickly.

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

Observers expect that McCafferty will establish a “bellwether” trial plan, selecting a small number of representative cases for earlier trial dates to get an idea of how juries will respond to evidence in the trials. If settlements are not reached after the MDL process, cases could be remanded back to the courts where they were filed.

Some of the allegations in the MDL lawsuits include:

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

Whistleblower lawsuits against Maquet

Two whistleblower lawsuits filed against Maquet in the past two years give a peek inside corporate culture at the company that owns Atrium. The lawsuits allege wrongful termination of and retaliation against compliance officers who tried to raise safety violation questions and other compliance issues. Although issues with C-QUR production have not been explicitly named in the lawsuits, underlying compliance issues at the company are relevant.

Oscar Sanchez, the former chief quality regulatory and compliance officer at Maquet, filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against Maquet in 2015. Sanchez alleges that he was fired for his objections to the company’s safety violations and other shady business practices resulting in dangerous medical devices being put on the market. The lawsuit claims that Maquet and its management “created a corporate culture of concealment, noncompliance and disdain” for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules regulating the safety of its medical devices.

Another whistleblower retaliation lawsuit was filed last year by a former Maquet compliance supervisor who claims she was terminated after she objected to the company’s improper testing and investigation of a medical device used in cardiac surgery. The lawsuit names four former compliance officers, including Oscar Sanchez, who were terminated for similar reasons.

Lawsuits against other hernia mesh manufacturers

Other companies have also manufactured and sold hernia meshes that have led to post-surgery complications, recalls, and subsequent lawsuits in state and federal courts. Some of the other manufacturers being sued include Ethicon (owned by Johnson & Johnson) and C.R. Bard, whose products have already been recalled.

C.R. Bard’s product, the Kugel Composix Hernia Patch, was one of the first hernia mesh products to be recalled. In one 2010 lawsuit filed against the company, a jury found the Kugel Patch to be defective and awarded $1.5 million to the plaintiff. The next year, the company settled more than 2,600 lawsuits for about $184 million total.

Ethicon recalled its Physiomesh product in May 2016, asking hospitals to remove their existing stock of the product to ensure that no more are implanted. A number of lawsuits have been filed against Ethicon, including one that is expected to go to trial in January 2018. It is possible that an MDL will be established for the Physiomesh cases sometime this year.

Let Stern Law protect your rights after a hernia mesh injury

If you worry that a faulty hernia mesh product is to blame for your injury or for a loved one’s wrongful death, Stern Law can help. Our firm can investigate the circumstances of the surgery to determine whether the mesh caused you or your loved one harm.

We can help you pursue 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 income
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Emotional trauma
• Pain and suffering

Stern Law works with a network of lawyers who have extensive experience in medical product liability, medical malpractice, and personal injury lawsuits. We investigate claims 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 case evaluation to determine your legal options. If our team believes you have a valid case, we will gather your medical records and launch an in-depth investigation to start building a claim.

Our dedicated attorneys have the resources and experience needed to pursue maximum compensation for you. Contact us today to learn how we can help.