Strict Liability Claims Against Pelvic Mesh Manufacturer

Strict Liability Claims Against Pelvic Mesh Manufacturer

Introduction

The U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania allowed strict liability claims to proceed against Coloplast Corp. in a pelvic mesh case.

The lawsuit was filed by a woman and her husband, against the pelvic mesh manufacturer, in 2018 over its allegedly defective device. The plaintiffs raised eight claims, including three based on strict liability.

According to a motion filed, Coloplast attempted to extend protections provided to the makers of prescription medical devices under comment K to Section 402 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, citing the 2006 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in Creazzo v. Medtronic. But in Jan. 17 order, the judge denied the company’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on the strict liability issues. The judge also noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially approved the device, but ordered the company to stop selling it in April 2019.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court advised the judges to not make categorical decisions about products concerning liability, without a strong record on the policy issues that should inform a common-law analysis of whether to allow these claims.