On January 26, 2012, a panel of federal judges of the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation met to discuss whether all lawsuits involving vaginal mesh lawsuits should be centralized before one judge. Companies being sued by injured women include Boston Scientific, American Medical System, and Ethicon/Gynecare. There is yet to be a decision made whether all vaginal mesh lawsuits should be centralized before Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

A number of lawsuits have been filed by women who say that the surgically implanted vaginal mesh, which is used to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI), causes adverse effects. These side effects are often painful and debilitating.

Some complications associated with use of the surgical mesh include erosion, pelvic floor damage, infection, and many more injuries. After the Food and Drug Administration received a number of adverse reports associated with surgical mesh, the agency then issued a public safety warning to raise awareness regarding these injuries.

The FDA also issued a warning in July of 2011 stating that no sound evidence is available to suggest that vaginal mesh provides any sufficient benefits over other treatment for pelvic organ prolapse.

Vaginal mesh attorneys continue to file lawsuits representing a number of victims affected by potentially dangerous medical devices such as vaginal mesh. The panel will decide whether these cases filed against the various manufacturers should be centralized before one judge. Attorneys argue that if the cases are centralized before different judges, unique problems would arise since many of the injured women had multiple implants manufactured by different companies.

If the panel of federal judges decides to centralize all vaginal mesh lawsuits before one judge, the possibility of conflict and duplicative discovery may be greatly avoided.