For women with injuries from the transobturator slings, there are symptoms and types of disability that suggest obturator and pudendal neuralgia injuries.
Ben Martin, Esq., national pharmaceutical injury trial attorney and partner at Martin Baughman PLLC in Dallas Texas answers:
“They can both be strong cases depending on the facts. In many jurisdictions in order to prove a design defect case courts require a safer alternative design. Some states require a safer alternative design in support of a negligence claim against a manufacturer. I think that manufacturers of transobturator slings, in time, either by FDA order, consumer pressure, or possibly because of an overwhelming number of lawsuits brought by seriously injured women, will be removed from the market.”
The transobturator (TOT) sling was first described by Delorme in 2001 as a “safer” method to place a polypropylene sling used for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence because it largely avoids bladder perforation which is a complication in 3-5% of retropubic sling placements.
“Manufacturers who claim transobturator slings as safer than retropubic slings are simply wrong. Transobturator slings cause long-term neuromuscular pain syndromes that destroy the lives of many women.” – Dr. Greg Vigna
Dr. Greg Vigna, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, practicing physician, and Certified Life Care Planner says, “Delorme is wrong, and all the manufacturers who claim the transobturator slings are safer than the retropubic slings are simply wrong. With retropubic slings, perforation can be reliably identified by cystoscopy at the time of placement, and with some luck this injury many times will heal with no long-term problems through short term use of a catheter. The transobturator slings cause long-term neuromuscular pain syndromes that destroy the lives of many women.”
Dr. Vigna continues, “The neuromuscular pain syndromes include obturator neuralgia and pudendal neuralgia and these complications occur acutely because of blind placement of the device in the proximity of the nerves and cause latent injuries to the nerves often years following implantation as the device contracts, scars, and degrades with ongoing inflammation all of which can cause neurological injury and pain syndromes.”
On April 27, 2020, Martin Baughman, PLLC filed a case on behalf of a severely injured woman whose injuries were caused by a Boston Scientific Obtryx, a transobturator sling. The case was filed in Middlesex County Superior Court in Massachusetts (Civil Action No.: 2081CV1027).
Mr. Martin continues, “We carefully review new cases. Once filed we pursue the cases so that people who are catastrophically injured can have their day in court. For women with injuries from the transobturator slings, there are symptoms and types of disability that suggest obturator and pudendal neuralgia injuries. Women with the diagnosis of ilioinguinal neuralgia and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome many times have these injuries as a result of retropubic slings. Some of the most injured victims, suffering from economic loss with vocational disability who are enormously burdened with future medical care needs and associated costs have these injuries.”
Ben Martin and Laura Baughman are national pharmaceutical injury attorneys in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who focuses on catastrophic injuries caused by transvaginal mesh devices including pudendal neuralgia, obturator neuralgia, ilioinguinal neuralgia, and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
For articles, video resources, and information visit the Pudendal Neuralgia Educational Portal (https://pudendalportal.lifecare123.com/) or https://tvm.lifecare123.com/.
Click here for information regarding sling related complications: https://tvm.lifecare123.com/slingebook.html
Click here for a FREE BOOK on Vaginal Mesh Pain: https://vignalawgroup.com/publications/
