Personal Injury Law Specialist in Phoenix, Arizona

A transvaginal mesh (TVM) patch is a surgically implanted device that stretches across the vaginal wall (which is also known as the pelvic floor) to add support to tissues damaged as a result of an injury, childbirth or surgery.Transvaginal meshes have been used in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse, a condition in which the bladder, uterus, vagina, urethra, bowels or rectum slides out of place due to weak pelvic floor tissues, or stress urinary continence, which is a lack of control over urination, which can cause women to urinate when laughing, sneezing or coughing.

In 2011, the FDA issued a public notice to doctors and TVM patients after 2,875 injuries relation to the mesh were reported between 2008 and 2011.Reported complications included devices from nine (9) different manufacturers, including the Avaulto support system by C.R. Bard, Gyncare Prolift and Gynemesh Prolene by Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson), AMS Prolapse Repair System by American Medical Systems, Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kits by Boston Scientific, and Polyform Synthetic Mesh by Proxy Biomedical, Ltd.

Transvaginal mesh systems have been linked to a number of dangerous problems, including reports of infection, pain, urinary problems and bowel, bladder and blood vessel perforations. There have been complaints of recurrences of pelvic organ prolapse, and vaginal mesh erosion.In fact, a 2009 clinical trial was stopped after 15% of the women implanted with the mesh suffered vaginal mesh erosion after only three months.

If you or someone close to you has suffered damages caused by a transvaginal mesh (TVM), please contact Steve Leshner for a free consultation and case evaluation.

Hot Coffee, a documentary feature film by Susan Saladoff is premiering on June 27 on HBO, which shows how the civil justice system has been under heavy attack for over 25 years.

Despite the fact that federal legislation has never been successful, big business interests have won in the hearts and minds of average people. They launched a public relations campaign starting in the mid 80s and continuing over the last two decades to convince the public that we have out of control juries, too many frivolous lawsuits and a civil justice system that needs reforming. They have used anecdotes, half truths and sometimes out and out lies in their efforts, for one purpose, to put limits on peoples access to the court system, the one and only place where an average citizen can go toe to toe with those with money and power and still have a shot at justice.

Because of the success of the public relations campaigns, paid for by tobacco, pharmaceutical and insurance companies, to name a few, our civil justice system is not impartial. Jurors have been led to believe that a large verdict will affect their pocketbooks. Voters believe that we have a court system out of control that needs reforming. Although there are consumer advocacy groups who have attempted to set the story straight, there has yet to be enough money to launch the kind of public relations campaign for consumers that can even begin to combat and challenge the public relations campaigns of pro-business and tort reform groups. Over the last few years, however, documentary films and independent film festivals have become a vehicle for alternative ideas to get a public forum.

Because almost everyone has heard about the McDonalds coffee case, and most people believe they know what it is about, this project has a fascination for people. Of course, we go much further into the debate than just the McDonalds coffee case, but the case is a vehicle for people to think about their long held beliefs and whether they are valid. We think this movie has the potential, with the right funding and effort, to really change the way people think about our civil justice system and access to the courts.

For more about Hot Coffee, and what you can do to protect and preserve our civil jury system, see http://hotcoffeethemovie.com/takeaction-5/

The two year Arizona statute of limitation will soon be running out to bring a claim against DePuy Orthopaedics and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. Arizona has a discovery rule exception, which means that a lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date of the injury by a defective product, or within two years of the date that you reasonably knew or should have known that you were injured by a defective product.

In the DePuy ASR cases, DePuy will likely argue that the statute of limitations was triggered on the date of the recall, August 24, 2012, and that all Arizona claimants must file their lawsuits on or before August 23, 2012. DePuy may move to dismiss any lawsuits filed in Arizona after that date. In those cases filed after August 23, 2012, an Arizona plaintiff may argue that regardless of the recall, they could not have reasonably known that they were injured until after that date, if they were unaware that they required revision, or suffered from metallosis, or loosening of the implant, until sometime after the recall. If a motion to dismiss is successful, a claimant may have to accept whatever DePuy offers in its recall reimbursement program operated by Broadspire.

Additionally, other manufacturers may attempt to use the DePuy ASR August 2010 recall date as a benchmark in other metal-on-metal hip litigation. If so, Arizona claimants implanted with DePuy Pinnacle, Wright Conserve or Biomet M2A-Magnum hip replacement systems may be subject to the statute of limitations expiring on or before August 23, 2012.

Phoenix, Arizona hip replacement attorney Stephen I. Leshner has already filed lawsuits on behalf of claimants injured by DePuy ASR, DePuy Pinnacle, and Wright Conserve failed hip replacement systems, as well as lawsuits involving Wright Medical femoral neck fractures, and is investigating possible claims involving Biomet and Smith & Nephew hip replacement systems. If you or someone close to you has suffered injury as result of any metal-on-metal hip replacement system, please contact immediately Steve Leshner for a free consultation.

British experts at the world’s biggest artificial joint registry said doctors should stop using metal-on-metal hip replacements, citing an analysis showing they have to be fixed or replaced more often than other implants.

All-metal hip joints were already under scrutiny over how long they last. Last year, regulators in the United States asked makers to conduct safety studies on them. Most artificial hip joints are plastic or ceramic.

In the new study, experts analyzed data for more than 400,000 hip replacements from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales from 2003 to 2011. More than 31,000 of those were metal-on-metal devices.

After five years, about 6 percent of people with the metal-on-metal variety needed surgery to fix or replace them. That compares with 1.7 to 2.3 percent of people who had ceramic or plastic joints.

Doctors usually expect hip joints to last at least a decade. The study was published online Tuesday in The Lancet, a British medical journal. It was financed by the National Joint Registry.

If you or someone close to you has been injured or is suffering from a defective metal-on-metal hip, including DePuy ASR, DePuy Pinnacle and Wright Medical hip replacement systems, please call Phoenix, Arizona hip replacement defect attorney Steve Leshner for a free consultation.

British experts at the world’s biggest artificial joint registry said doctors should stop using metal-on-metal hip replacements, citing an analysis showing they have to be fixed or replaced more often than other implants.

All-metal hip joints were already under scrutiny over how long they last. Last year, regulators in the United States asked makers to conduct safety studies on them. Most artificial hip joints are plastic or ceramic.

In the new study, experts analyzed data for more than 400,000 hip replacements from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales from 2003 to 2011. More than 31,000 of those were metal-on-metal devices.

After five years, about 6 percent of people with the metal-on-metal variety needed surgery to fix or replace them. That compares with 1.7 to 2.3 percent of people who had ceramic or plastic joints.

Doctors usually expect hip joints to last at least a decade. The study was published online Tuesday in The Lancet, a British medical journal. It was financed by the National Joint Registry.

If you or someone close to you has been injured or is suffering from a defective metal-on-metal hip, including DePuy ASR, DePuy Pinnacle and Wright Medical hip replacement systems, please call Phoenix, Arizona hip replacement defect attorney Steve Leshner for a free consultation.