Firm to pay $60M for harmful mesh

JACKSON, Miss. —A company that failed to adequately inform women of dangerous side effects related to permanent pelvic mesh devices will be required to pay $60 million, according to a settlement announced this week by state attorney generals across the country.

The money from C.R. Bard Inc. and its parent company Becton, Dickinson and Company, will be spread out among 48 states and the District of Columbia. For example, Arizona will receive $1.15 million, while Mississippi is set to receive around $840,000.

“C.R. Bard failed to disclose serious and life-altering risks of permanently implanted surgical mesh devices, leaving thousands of women to suffer,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement. “This settlement holds Bard accountable for its deceptive business practices.”

Troy Kirkpatrick, a spokesperson for Becton, Dickinson and Co., said Friday morning that C.R. Bard and its parent company have denied any allegations of wrongdoing. He said the company chose to settle the matter “to avoid the time and expense of further litigation.”

The litigation involving C.R. Bard’s pelvic mesh product began prior to its acquisition of the company in 2017. Kirkpatrick said that “ensuring the safety and quality of products has always been the top priority at BD“and that the company is in full compliance with laws and regulations.

C.R. Bard Inc. is the latest manufacturer of transvaginal mesh, an implant used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, to be required by the court to pay a large sum.