Recently trending are allegations that Boston Scientific may knowingly be using counterfeit material sold by a notorious China-based counterfeiter in their vaginal mesh sling products, that they have not conducted appropriate tests using the new material and that they defrauded regulators.
According to the latest news, it appears that the medical device maker, after losing its U.S. material source, may be part of a conspiracy to import second-rate, subpar polypropylene resin for use in the slings. Other defendants named in the Boston Scientific lawsuit are EMAI Plastic Raw Materials of Guangzhou, China, Proxy Biomedical Ltd of Ireland, and Luxilon Industries based in Belgium.
Boston Scientific loudly denies any such allegations.
This allegation is deeply troubling for a number of reasons. Vaginal mesh slings were created with the intention of helping women deal with pelvic organ prolapse. To date, many horrific lawsuits have been filed by thousands of injured women.
Many women have had their lives turned upside down and live with severe pain, pelvic pain, organ perforation, bleeding, infection, pain during intercourse, and urinary incontinence issues due to eroding vaginal mesh and have no hope of having the invasive, organ infesting sling completely removed.
The ethical question of a company knowingly using substandard materials in a product designed for implantation in the body looms large and raises sharp questions about the ethics of Boston Scientific. The ethics of a counterfeiter selling such below-standard material are certainly questionable as well.
Should the allegations prove to be true and are verified, such a development would change the way vaginal mesh cases may be tried. Such evidence would be of significant interest to a judge and jury and likely tip the scales of justice in favor of even more plaintiffs. Boston sells at least $120 million of vaginal mesh a year. Over 55,000 women yearly may have this questionable product implanted.
If you are suffering pain, inflammation, and disability as the result of a vaginal mesh sling implant, you may contact my office for information on your legal rights.