Direct2Attorney is a legal marketing & referral service, not a law firm and not a substitute for legal advice.
Home / Mass Tort / Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit
A transvaginal mesh lawsuit often starts years after what was supposed to be the small operation. Day surgery, back on your feet by the weekend, no more crossing your legs when you sneeze. Nobody said the word permanent in a way you understood. And nobody said that the pain arriving years later would be the hardest part to explain to anyone.
Complications from pelvic mesh?
About 2 minutes · free · private
Eligibility
These claims are about mesh implanted through the vagina, for prolapse or for leaking, that went on to cause harm. In 2026 the biggest question is not what happened to you. It is what your state’s deadline says. For official background, see the FDA’s page on urogynecologic surgical mesh.
For pelvic organ prolapse repair, for stress urinary incontinence, or both. Implants from roughly 1998 onward are the ones at issue.
TVT, TOT, mini-slings and other mid-urethral slings are included. Many women were told it was “just a sling,” not mesh. It is mesh.
The single strongest fact in most mesh cases. Partial removals count, and so does a surgery your doctor recommended but you have not had yet.
Mesh exposed through the vaginal wall, chronic pelvic or groin pain, pain during sex, repeat UTIs, or damage to the bladder or bowel.
Some states start the clock when you knew the mesh was the cause, not when it was implanted. A recent diagnosis or a recent surgery can change the answer.
Almost nobody does. The operative report, the implant sticker in your hospital chart and the billing records identify it, and a firm can request them.
Was your mesh for a hernia instead?
That is a separate litigation with different manufacturers, different courts and different deadlines, even though both use polypropylene mesh. Say so on the form and you will be pointed to the right place rather than the wrong one.
Meeting these guidelines does not mean you have a valid claim. It means a participating law firm is likely to review it. Firms are far more selective in mesh cases than they were during the MDL years, because each case is now litigated individually rather than as part of a large group. That firm decides on its own whether to take your case. Many claims are turned down, most often on the filing deadline, and some recover nothing. Direct2Attorney cannot judge the legal merits of your case, give legal advice, or file anything for you.
Common worries
These are the worries we hear most often, and the plain truth about each one.
What holds people back
The big federal cases closed years ago.
What is true
Claims today are filed as individual lawsuits in state court. New Jersey is the most active venue, with hundreds of cases still on its dockets.
What holds people back
Most mesh went in between 1998 and 2019.
What is true
Many states use a discovery rule, where the clock starts when you knew or should have known the mesh caused your injury. A recent revision or diagnosis can matter.
What holds people back
Many women were told this.
What is true
TVT, TOT and other mid-urethral slings are mesh, and sling cases have been filed, tried and settled throughout this litigation.
What holds people back
Pain during sex and leaking are hard to discuss.
What is true
Your information is encrypted and handled according to our Privacy Policy. You share only what you are comfortable sharing to start.
Educational
Transvaginal mesh is a woven sheet or tape of polypropylene, the same family of plastic used in many surgical implants. It was placed through the vagina to hold up organs that had dropped, called pelvic organ prolapse, or to support the urethra so that coughing, laughing and lifting no longer caused leaking, which is stress urinary incontinence.
The appeal was obvious. It was quicker than stitching a woman’s own tissue, it could be done in a day, and it was marketed as a lasting fix. Many of these devices reached the market through the FDA’s 510(k) pathway, which allows a new device to be cleared by showing it is substantially similar to one already sold, without new clinical trials in patients.
The problem is what happens after the mesh is in. Polypropylene can stiffen and degrade in the body. The mesh can contract and pull on the tissue it was anchored to, it can erode through the vaginal wall, and it can wrap around or irritate nerves. The resulting pain is often chronic, and because the mesh becomes part of the surrounding tissue, it can be extremely difficult to remove entirely.
These are not rare or theoretical complaints. They are the injuries behind more than 100,000 lawsuits, and they are why the FDA acted.
Three different claims, not one
Prolapse mesh, bladder slings and hernia mesh are often mixed up. They are not the same.
The FDA issued public safety communications in 2008 and 2011 about complications from transvaginal mesh, and in 2016 reclassified mesh for transvaginal prolapse repair as a high-risk device requiring premarket approval.
Manufacturers have consistently defended these products.
| Manufacturer | Federal MDL status |
|---|---|
| Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson) | Closed. Gynecare cases continue in New Jersey state court |
| C.R. Bard | Closed. Bard pelvic mesh cases continue in New Jersey state court |
| Boston Scientific | Closed. New claims are individual state court lawsuits |
| American Medical Systems | Closed. New claims are individual state court lawsuits |
| Coloplast | Closed. New claims are individual state court lawsuits |
| Cook | Closed. New claims are individual state court lawsuits |
| Neomedic | Closed. New claims are individual state court lawsuits |
All seven MDLs were before Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia and closed between 2019 and 2022. Company names are used only to identify the parties in this litigation. Direct2Attorney is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any manufacturer, the FDA, or any court.
The medical side, in plain words
Many women had mesh without major problems. When it does go wrong, it usually comes down to one of these four things.
Mesh can contract and pull on the tissue it was anchored to, causing pain and tightness.
Mesh can erode through the vaginal wall or into the bladder or bowel. This is called erosion or exposure.
Mesh can wrap around or irritate nerves, causing pain that runs into the groin, thigh or leg.
Polypropylene can stiffen and degrade in the body. Lawsuits allege this makes the other problems worse.
Sometimes a partner notices first
Mesh eroding or poking through the vaginal wall is sometimes felt by a partner before anyone else notices. If you had mesh and any of this sounds familiar, see a doctor and tell them you have an implant.
Treatment
If you are in pain, the person to see is a urogynecologist or a female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery specialist, ideally one who handles mesh complications regularly. That is a medical conversation, and it is separate from any legal question. You do not have to resolve one before starting the other.
Removal is not automatically the answer. Mesh removal is major surgery, and it is not always complete or successful. Nothing here is medical advice or a recommendation to have or refuse any procedure.
Finding the problem
A pelvic exam, ultrasound or other tests to find erosion, scarring or nerve problems.
Infection
For repeat urinary tract infections or infection around the mesh, sometimes long term.
Pain
Medicine, nerve treatments or injections to ease chronic pelvic pain.
Rehab
Exercises and hands-on therapy to relax or strengthen the pelvic muscles.
Surgery
Taking out some or all of the mesh. It can take more than one operation.
Afterwards
Fixing damage to the bladder or bowel, and treating leaking or prolapse that returns.
Quick self-check
If you can say yes to most of these, it is worth asking for a free review.
Did you have mesh or a bladder sling placed through the vagina for prolapse or leaking?
Have you had erosion, chronic pain, infections or pain during sex since?
Have you had, or been told you need, surgery to fix or remove the mesh?
Did a doctor only recently connect your problems to the mesh, or did a recent surgery happen?
Requirements
You do not need any of this to start. A firm collects it for you. But every claim is built on these four things.
Which device
Operative report, implant sticker or billing records.
The complication
Records of erosion, pain, infection or revision.
A link between them
A doctor tying the injury to the mesh.
Filed in time
Your state’s deadline is the biggest factor.
Case status
Transvaginal mesh produced one of the largest groups of product liability cases in U.S. history. The federal MDLs are over, all seven of them. Any case filed now is an individual lawsuit in state court, standing on its own facts.
The honest question about filing now
For many women, the deadline has already passed. Most of this mesh was implanted between 1998 and 2019, and in most states the statute of limitations for a surgery that long ago expired years ago. That is the plain truth, and it is the first thing a firm will look at.
It is not the whole truth, though. Many states apply a discovery rule, where the clock starts when you knew or reasonably should have known that the mesh caused your injury. A recent revision surgery, a recent erosion, or recently learning which device you had can all matter.
Mesh at issue begins
Implants from roughly 1998 onward are the ones at issue in these claims.
FDA safety warnings
The FDA issued public safety communications about complications.
Prolapse mesh reclassified
The FDA made mesh for transvaginal prolapse repair a high-risk device.
Prolapse mesh off the market
The FDA ordered makers to stop selling it. Slings were not part of the order.
Seven federal MDLs close
More than 100,000 cases were filed, and the large majority were resolved there.
New Jersey is still moving
New Jersey runs two coordinated multicounty litigations for pelvic mesh, one for Ethicon Gynecare products and one for C.R. Bard, managed together in Bergen County. 2026 case management orders set schedules for hundreds of Ethicon cases at various stages. Cases have also been filed in Massachusetts and Minnesota.
This is not medical advice. If you had mesh and have pelvic pain, bleeding, repeat infections or mesh you can feel, see a doctor and tell them you have an implant. Ask specifically about a urogynecologist or a specialist in female pelvic medicine.
Compensation
If a claim succeeds, compensation is meant to cover what the mesh has cost you: the operations, the years of managing it, and the parts of ordinary life it took away. Reported settlements across all manufacturers have exceeded $8 billion, though many individual agreements are confidential.
No one can tell you what your claim is worth, and no one can promise you will recover anything at all. Appellate courts have upheld multi-million dollar mesh verdicts, and juries have also returned defense verdicts. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.
The process
You do not need the device name, the operative report or a diagnosis code to begin a transvaginal mesh lawsuit review. Tell us what you remember.
Roughly when the mesh went in, what it was for, and what has gone wrong since. No cost, no obligation. Approximate dates are fine.
This is the step that matters most in mesh cases. A participating firm should tell you plainly whether your state’s filing deadline has likely run. If the answer is no, you should hear it in that first call.
You sign an authorization. The firm requests the operative report, the implant sticker from your hospital chart, billing records and your treatment history.
Your case is filed as an individual lawsuit in the appropriate state court, which may be New Jersey or your home state. You are never required to accept an offer you do not want.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Step 1 takes about two minutes.
Deadlines
In 2026 the deadline is the single biggest factor in whether a claim can still be brought.
For mesh implanted many years ago, the deadline in most states has long passed.
Many states start the clock when you knew or reasonably should have known the mesh caused your injury.
A recent revision, a recent erosion or recently identifying your device can all affect the answer.
Deadlines vary by state, and only an attorney licensed in yours can tell you which one applies.
Getting that answer takes one conversation and costs nothing
For some women the deadline has run. For others it has not, and they never asked.
Why people use us
No upfront fees
The review is free. Participating firms work on contingency, so a fee is owed only out of a recovery. No recovery, no attorney fee.
Firms still taking mesh claims
Many firms closed mesh intake when the MDLs ended. We connect you with ones still reviewing individual cases in state court.
We help identify the device
Hardly any woman knows the brand of her implant. Operative reports and hospital records answer it, and a firm can request them.
Private and confidential
These are personal, often painful details. Your information is encrypted and handled according to our Privacy Policy.
What Direct2Attorney is
A legal marketing and referral service. We check whether your situation matches what participating law firms are looking for, and connect you with one of them if it does.
What Direct2Attorney is not
We are not a law firm. We cannot give you legal advice, represent you, or file anything on your behalf. Only a law firm you sign with can do that.
Firms are reviewing mesh claims in state court
If you had mesh or a bladder sling and have been living with pain, erosion or repeat surgeries, the question worth answering is whether your state’s deadline has run for a transvaginal mesh lawsuit. For some women it has. For others it has not, and they never asked. Finding out takes about two minutes and costs nothing.
What happens after you ask
We check your answers
Usually the same business day
A participating firm may call you
At the time you choose
You decide what comes next
No cost and no obligation, ever
Questions
Still have a question? Ask it on the call. The review is free, and there is no obligation.
Start my free review →Participating law firms are generally reviewing claims from women who had surgical mesh implanted through the vagina to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, including bladder slings, and who later developed complications such as mesh erosion, chronic pelvic pain, infection, organ perforation or pain during sex. Cases involving revision or removal surgery are the strongest. Because the federal MDLs have closed, the filing deadline in your state is now the single biggest factor in whether a claim can still be brought.
No. Seven federal transvaginal mesh MDLs were consolidated before Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia, covering more than 100,000 cases. They have all closed, the last of them in 2022. Claims today are filed as individual lawsuits in state court. New Jersey is the most active venue, with coordinated multicounty litigation for Ethicon Gynecare mesh and for Bard pelvic mesh, and hundreds of cases still on those dockets.
For many women, yes. Most mesh was implanted between roughly 1998 and 2019, and the filing deadline in most states has long passed for those surgeries. But the deadline does not always run from the implant date. Many states use a discovery rule, where the clock starts when you knew or reasonably should have known that the mesh caused your injury, which can be much later. Recent revision surgery, a recent diagnosis or a recently identified device can matter. Only an attorney licensed in your state can tell you which deadline applies to you, and that answer costs nothing to get.
Both have been the subject of litigation. The FDA ordered manufacturers to stop selling surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse in April 2019. Mid-urethral slings used for stress urinary incontinence, including TVT and TOT type slings, were not part of that order and are still on the market, but sling cases have been filed, tried and settled throughout this litigation. If you had a sling, say so during the review.
Yes. Most women were never told the brand name, and the surgery may have been described only as a sling or a prolapse repair. Identifying the device is normally done from the operative report, the implant sticker in the hospital chart and the billing records, which a law firm can request with your written authorization. Not having the paperwork is not a reason to skip a review.
Common reported complications include mesh eroding or being exposed through the vaginal wall, chronic pelvic or groin pain, pain during sex for you or your partner, recurrent urinary tract infections, unusual bleeding or discharge, difficulty urinating or worsening incontinence, and pain radiating into the thigh or leg. Some problems appear within months and others years later. These symptoms should be evaluated by a doctor, ideally a urogynecologist or a female pelvic medicine specialist. Nothing on this page is medical advice.
No. Hernia mesh is a separate litigation with different manufacturers, different products, different courts and different deadlines, even though both involve polypropylene mesh. If your mesh was implanted to repair a hernia rather than through the vagina, tell us during the review so you are pointed to the right place.
Almost certainly not for the same injury. Settlements in this litigation normally included a release, meaning you gave up the right to sue that manufacturer over that device. If you had a second, different mesh implanted later, or believe your settlement did not cover a particular claim, mention it during the review so a firm can look at the paperwork.
Nothing to ask. The case review is free with no obligation. If a participating law firm takes your case, it will normally work on contingency. That means the fee comes out of a recovery, and no fee is owed if there is no recovery.
No. Direct2Attorney is a legal marketing and referral service, not a law firm. An attorney-client relationship may form only after a participating law firm reviews your information and signs a separate representation agreement with you.
Only what is needed, and only with the firm you choose. To start, a few basic facts are enough: roughly when the mesh went in, what it was for, and what has gone wrong. Your information is encrypted and handled according to our Privacy Policy.
In the news
Plain-English articles from our editorial team on the latest rulings, trials and deadlines, and what each one means if you are thinking about a claim.
Official resources
