After months of stagnation, the Multidistrict Litigation created around Atrium Medical’s C-Qur line of hernia mesh products has exploded, with 471 new claims added to the New Hampshire-based MDL in May 2018.

New Hampshire Federal Court Sees Dramatic Rise In Atrium C-Qur Lawsuits

For months, only 30 lawsuits accusing Atrium Medical of manufacturing and marketing a defective line of hernia mesh patches were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

But in the past 30 days, nearly 500 more C-Qur lawsuits have been added to the centralized litigation, finding a home under District Judge Landya B. McCafferty, the federal judge appointed to preside over the litigation.

500+ C-Qur Claims Consolidated In New Hampshire

This process of consolidation, in which similar lawsuits filed in federal courts across the country are transferred to a single jurisdiction, could speed the pace of litigation significantly. Rather than spreading its defense resources across the entire nation, Atrium Medical will be able to focus its efforts in New Hampshire.

Plaintiffs, too, could enjoy substantial benefits. In the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, plaintiffs will be able to pool their resources, as an appointed panel of plaintiffs’ attorneys guide the discovery process through the gathering of evidence.

Plaintiffs Say Fish Oil Leads To Vicious Immune Response

Plaintiffs have focused their claims on the design and materials used to manufacture C-Qur mesh implants. The product line features a polypropylene mesh coated in a layer of material derived from fish oil.

Atrium Medical chose fish oil, the company says, to reduce the risk of adhesion, a side effect that occurs when scar tissue grows around the mesh and comes to bind internal organs to one another. Many plaintiffs, however, claim that C-Qur patches can actually increase the risk of adhesion, in part because fish oil and materials derived from it can cause severe immune system responses.

Polypropylene Is “Unsafe” For Human Implantation, Lawsuits Claim

At the same time, the plaintiffs raise an objection common to many other hernia mesh litigations, saying the polypropylene plastic mesh from which C-Qur products are made is incompatible with the human body. Just like fish oil, the plaintiffs allege in their complaints, polypropylene can lead to dramatic and dangerous immune system reactions, leading to raging infections, mesh rejection and hernia recurrence.

The majority of the plaintiffs contend they were forced to undergo painful and costly revision procedures after experiencing complications due to C-Qur mesh products. Now, we know that the number of plaintiffs who are raising their voices against Atrium Medical is growing at an extraordinary pace.