Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi, the presiding judge over the Kugel Mesh hernia patch lawsuits, has indicated that the first of four trials is now scheduled for March 2010. The Kugel Mesh hernia patch lawsuits have been consolidated in Multidistrict Litigation in Rhode Island. According to a case management order, three other Kugel Mesh trials are scheduled for April, July and September 2010. Currently, there are more than 1,000 lawsuits in the MDL.
The consolidation of the lawsuits is a result of the number of lawsuits filed as well as similar issues of fact in the cases. The MDL was formed in 2007 in order to handle lawsuits arising from the defective hernia patch that has caused thousands of significant injuries to those who’ve had the hernia repair surgery.
Between 2005 and 2007, three separate Kugel Mesh hernia patch recalls were issued for different types of the hernia mesh patch. The lawsuits also involve Kugel patches that have not been recalled but employ a similar dual-mesh technology which has been associated with problems like intestinal pain, bowel perforation, intestinal fistula and additional surgery to remove the mesh.