How a Work Comp Claim Can Turn Into a Products Liability Claim

Have you sustained a work-related injury that resulted in the implanting of a hernia mesh? Did your work-related injury result in a hip or knee replacement? Many times product liability claims are overlooked when they are the result of a work-related accident. Similar to if you were in a vehicle doing your job and you were in a car accident (this is a work comp claim and a car accident claim). A subsequent product liability claim is similar. The biggest difference is that often at the time of the hernia mesh implant or hip and/or knee replacement you did
not know that there was the possibility of a case against the manufacturer or distributor of the implanted product.

Today we will talk about hernia repair surgeries. These are everyday occurrences and the surgery outcome is usually successful. There are many different techniques that surgeons can employ to repair a hernia, which include:

• the use of sutures
• the use of organic material (from the patient, a cadaver or an animal)
• or the use of synthetic meshes. In fact, there are over fifty (50)
  different synthetic meshes that are used, and they vary widely in composition, manufacturing and labeling.

Unfortunately, many hernia repairs are implanted with synthetic hernia repair meshes that have dangerous qualities that are not adequately disclosed to the patients or doctors. Many of the meshes are composed of a substance that reacts adversely inside the body resulting in infection and failure to integrate into the tissue. A failure to integrate leads to the failure of the repair and the need for a revision surgery.

In addition to the unsafe composition of these dangerous meshes, they are defective in their design and warnings. Many of the synthetic meshes will change their shape after being implanted in the body, or it will migrate, which can cause piercing or damage to surrounding organs. As a result, hernia repair patients implanted with defective mesh may end up with a bowel obstruction requiring surgical repair or with painful adhesions requiring surgical removal.

When there are complications from a work-related mesh implant, an injured worker should immediately think about re-opening the work comp claim AND exploring a possible product liability claim against the mesh manufacturer.

We handle both workers’ compensation claims and product liability claims, and are happy to evaluate any mesh case for re-opening and/or a product liability claim.

Please call or email Attorney Billie-Marie Morrison at 702-380-2800 or bmorrison@cpklaw.com.