Resources for Canadian Victims of Hernia Mesh

You can obtain this information by contacting the Health Records Department of the Hospital where the surgery took place. You may ask them to provide you with a product sticker pertaining to your mesh. The product sticker will contain a serial number/lot number that will enable the lawyer to determine the product manufacturer’s name.

Your doctor/surgeon should provide information about how long short-term, temporary pain from the surgery should last. Longer term pain that prompts you to return to your doctor for care and suggestions for additional treatment from your doctor may indicate that you may need surgery to fix a problem with the mesh following an examination. Always follow your primary healthcare provider’s advice and treatment plan.

The defendant(s) in this lawsuit is a manufacturer of a faulty or defective hernia mesh product. Often, the manufacturer has had to recall the product and patients have experienced serious pain. This lawsuit does not list any doctors, medical staff and/or hospitals as defendants.

It is impossible to tell the value of your case at this time. There is a cap on pain and suffering damages that can be awarded to a victim in Canada. At this time it is approximately $365,000 (April 2017), which would be awarded to a paraplegic. This cap increases monthly with the cost of living.

A cap on pain and suffering was established with the supreme court ruling of Andrews v. Grand & Toy Alberta Ltd., [1978] 2 S.C.R. 229.

You have two (2) years – from the time you knew or ought to have known with the use of reasonable diligence that the damages you suffered were from the defective mesh – to participate in a lawsuit. Your hernia mesh implant must have been implanted after the year 2000.

Your initial consultation is free. You only pay after being compensated. Our fee is deducted from the settlement amount. If we’re not successful, you don’t pay.

Yes. If your loved one’s death was linked to problems they experienced with defective hernia mesh you have the right to sue for wrongful death and for the pain and suffering the loss of their companionship or loss of their earning potential has caused your family.

If you were not able to continue your lawsuit due to disability or death, your family or next of kin would be able to continue with your suit and seek justice for you.

Hernia mesh lawsuits are estimated to take between three to five years to complete depending on the nature of the case and court timelines.

Mass tort actions are often the best way to proceed with medical product liability lawsuits where the injuries victims sustain vary widely.

A representative plaintiff is identified to fairly and adequately represent the interests of an entire class of plaintiffs. When a court-approved settlement or court decision is reached, all members of the class action are bound to accept it. Plaintiffs will be categorized by the extent and severity of their injuries as the award is distributed and will have virtually no input into how much they believe they should receive personally.

A hernia located in fibrous tissue in the area between the belly button and breast bone.

Hernias occur when tissue or organs push through a muscle wall or exit a body cavity which normally holds them in place. Most often found in the abdominal region or groin, symptoms often include pain which may worsen depending on physical movement or position, strenuous activities, and actions such as coughing or urinating depending on the type of hernia present. Some hernias can be managed through lifestyle changes (weight-loss, eating habits), while others may require corrective surgery.

A patch – made of either animal tissue or synthetic fabric – hernia mesh products are used as a bridging device to strengthen weaken or torn tissue in the human body. Hernia mesh products have been used for half a century and were considered a major medical advance in helping the success rates of initial hernia operations. In recent decades, synthetic hernia mesh products have increasingly been manufactured using a plastic material called polypropylene.

Although hernia surgeries are often successful, failures can result in hernia reoccurrence or complications such as infection, chronic pain, adhesion of skin, and obstruction. A defective hernia mesh product increases the risk of these complications and may also cause organ perforation, fissures, nerve damage and, in serious cases, blood poisoning and death. Hernia mesh remedial or corrective surgery either replaces or removes hernia mesh and accompanying scar tissue.

These hernias occur when tissue or an organ, such as an intestine, push out of the abdominal muscle wall or the fatty tissue in the groin or scrotum. This hernia can result in a bulge under the skin which may or may not cause pain. Pain can result from strenuous activities or actions such as coughing or bending.

Sometimes called “key hole” surgeries, these operations are usually used for inguinal or femoral hernia repairs. Following general anesthesia, a small incision is made through which a thin scope can be inserted to place a mesh product. This minimally invasive surgery usually provides patients with a faster recovery period and less pain than an open hernia surgery.

Generally funded through contingency fees (where legal fees are only payable if the lawsuit ends in a settlement or court award), mass tort actions allow for multiple classes of plaintiffs with similar but varying interests to sue a defendant.  Often used in medical product liability cases where assessments of the severity of injury varying widely among persons joining an action, personal injury and product liability lawyers may proceed with a few test cases to establish structures for future settlement discussions. Mass tort actions provide individual plaintiffs with the benefits of collective action and the flexibility of an individual lawsuit. For example, a plaintiff in a mass tort action may decline to accept a settlement proposal that other plaintiffs have accepted and opt to proceed to a trial or try to negotiate an alternative settlement.

An inguinal hernia that pushes through the belly button area of the abdomen, umbilical hernias sometimes resolve on their own without surgery.