Court awards N.C. couple $1.5 million against Cranston firm

-Projo.com

08/30/2010 - A federal jury has awarded a North Carolina couple $1.5 million for injuries the husband suffered after a hernia patch made by the Cranston firm Davol Inc. ruptured in his abdomen.

After deliberating about two days, a jury of seven women found that the failure of Davol and its parent company, C.R. Bard Inc., to warn about the dangers of mesh patch led to the injuries Christopher Thorpe suffered after having a hernia repaired in 2005, court records show. The jury also found that the patch’s poor design caused the couple’s suffering.

The jury in U.S. District Court last Monday awarded $1.3 million to Thorpe, a manufacturing manager in Catawba, N.C., and $200,000 to his wife, Laure, for time she spent dressing his wounds.

The company, which had argued that the doctor had not implanted the patch correctly, plans to appeal. “While we’re disappointed with [Monday’s] verdict, it is important to note that the case follows a defense verdict in favor of the company returned in April,” said Scott Lowry, a company spokesman.

The two-week trial was the second of about 3,000 cases involving the Kugel Mesh hernia-repair patch made by Davol that are working their way through federal and state courts in Rhode Island. The jury in the first case in April ruled in favor of the company.

Donald A. Migliori, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said about 20 percent of the 3,000 cases resembled Thorpe’s in the seriousness of the injuries.

Thorpe had a patch implanted in 2005 to repair an abdominal hernia. The ring to which the mesh fabric was attached broke, causing swelling, pain and the formation of an abscess, which had to be continuously drained, according to his lawsuit against the company. Thorpe underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage.

As a result of the damage, Thorpe, 52, will be able to lift only 5 to 10 pounds for the rest of his life and faces future surgeries, Migliori said. “It’s a pretty horrible outcome.”

The next trial will begin in October before Presiding Justice Alice B. Gibney in Superior Court, Providence.

The company remained optimistic about the outcome of future cases. The company is committed to defending each case “individually and scientifically, based on the relevant facts,” Lowry said.

The trials in U.S. District Court mark the first time lawsuits filed nationwide are being handled in federal court in Rhode Island under a program that has centralized such high-profile litigation as that involving asbestos, breast implants and the arthritis drug Vioxx.

The cases target patches manufactured by Davol from 2001 to 2006. Invented by Dr. Robert Kugel, the mesh patches are folded in half and inserted behind a hernia through a small incision, the suit says. The patches include a “memory recoil ring” that redeploys once inside the abdomen.

The suit alleges that some of the rings broke under stress. As a result, the rings came loose and traveled inside the body, causing stomach pain, intestinal blockages, bowel perforations and even death. The FDA ordered a recall for a variety of Kugel Mesh patches, indicating the agency believes that the product is dangerous or defective, the suit says.

If you or a loved one have suffered or been injured from a defective Hernia Patch you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the Hernia Repair Patch attorneys of Ennis & Ennis today for a free confidential case evaluation. Our on staff nurse and lawyers are standing by to answer any questions you may have regarding the Hernia Repair Patches, a possible Hernia Repair Patch class action lawsuit, or any other type of Hernia Repair Patch litigation.