AMS Transvaginal Mesh Settlement Money “Chump Change”

Tacoma, WAAndrea recently received a transvaginal mesh settlement offer from American Medical Systems (AMS), but she says it’s little more than “chump change” given the four-year nightmare she has gone through since the device was implanted, and it ain’t over yet...

For most women who have suffered adverse events from the mesh and filed a lawsuit against AMS, the company is offering $40,000. Women who’ve been more seriously injured are receiving settlements of $250,000 or more, depending upon which “tier” you fit into (your attorney can assist you).

But Andrea says she was offered only $9,000 from the “special master settlement.” “I’m not sure if I should accept this due to not having any medical insurance for years,” she says. “Consequently I’ve had the bare minimum of doctor visits, and there is nothing I want more than getting this mesh removed, but I can’t afford it.” And it is very unlikely that $9,000 would cover the costs of surgery to remove the AMS transvaginal mesh. “I went back to the doctor that did the implant, however, but he said he didn’t know why I have even worse incontinence now than pre-mesh. Every day, my bladder doesn’t empty all the way, and I have severe leakage. And he couldn’t explain why I am having so much pain, especially when I had - past tense - sex.”

Given those symptoms that Andrea has endured for four years, it is unfathomable why she was only offered $9,000.

And no amount of money can repair Andrea’s 30-year marriage. She and her husband went their separate ways a few years ago. Andrea blames most of it on their sexual problems due to the mesh. “I had a mental breakdown and along with the incontinence, I lost my job,” she says. “I had to go on disability and have to rely on my family a lot.

“I could really do with the money but if I accept, I am responsible for any medical problems - past, present and future. I still have to get this mesh out. And I would have to live with AMS not admitting to any guilt.

“I think AMS is counting on women like me to take the money and run, which is a pittance. I wish someone could help me make a decision, but right now I’m leaning toward having my day in court.”

Andrea might be better off not accepting the settlement. Juries have, for the most part, sided with plaintiffs who have suffered transvaginal mesh injuries. And they have been awarded substantial settlements. As Andrea said, $9K is chump change.