Morrison Mahoney Partner Tom Anderson, with the assistance of Associate Kyle Deskus, recently won a defense verdict in a medical malpractice case on behalf of a urogynecologist after a two-week trial in Connecticut.
The plaintiff brought suit against our client, claiming that our client was negligent for using transvaginal mesh instead of repairing a prolapse with the patient’s native tissue and in performing an unnecessary “sling” procedure without appropriate preoperative testing. The plaintiff claimed that the mesh caused her permanent pain that necessitated multiple surgeries and hospitalizations for the removal of the mesh. She further claimed that she suffers from daily, severe, disabling pain, which has limited her ability to engage in her usual activities. Her husband claimed a loss of consortium. The plaintiff also brought an informed consent claim, alleging that our client did not warn her of the complications of transvaginal mesh, including telling her that the FDA had issued a health notification and that ACOG had issued a bulletin calling transvaginal mesh “experimental.”
We countered by arguing that our client had indications for using mesh; that it was appropriate to perform a prophylactic sling procedure following the repair of her pelvic organ prolapse; that he was qualified in performing the surgery; and that he followed his custom and practice by informing the plaintiff of the risks of using mesh. The jury returned a defense verdict in less than an hour.
