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7NEWS
01-05-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Women left waiting for share of $405m mesh implant payout
More than 1000 women injured from defective pelvic mesh implants await assessment for compensation, two years after mammoth settlements were reached. Meant to assist women with prolapses and leakage, the flawed products routinely caused chronic pain, incontinence, and pain during sexual intercourse. Device makers Johnson and Johnson, Ethicon and Boston Scientific agreed to pay $405 million in compensation in settlements approved by the Federal Court in late 2022 and early 2023. But the court was told on Thursday 1020 women were yet to be assessed for compensation two years on. Blame has been laid on difficulties obtaining the medical records necessary to complete the assessments. 'An enormous amount of work has been done, but there are stragglers,' the administrators' lawyer Guy Donnellan told the court on Thursday. Medical records for the women assessed come from various practices and are not connected to doctors who administered the vaginal mesh and tape implants, the court was told. Since the settlements, just $25 million has been paid out to more than 6000 women deemed eligible by administrators, Donnellan told Justice Michael Lee. Women who receive this first interim payment will be eligible for further compensation in future. About 15,000 women who received implants from Ethicon have been assessed with 1000 remaining, while some 20 of the 2698 women who received Boston Scientific implants were still waiting. A small group of women have been deemed ineligible for compensation, he said. Thursday's hearing came on International Mesh Awareness Day, recognising women and some men who were affected by the implants across decades. Hundreds of South Australians injured by the implants were issued with a formal government apology on Wednesday night. 'I am sorry for the pain, embarrassment, and gaslighting you have endured,' Health Minister Chris Picton said. 'For the times you questioned your own experiences and were dismissed by those who were meant to care for you.' Picton said the government would continue to educate doctors and improve services for those seeking care to ensure it would not happen again. The compensation pool is being administered by a trio of firms — BDO, JGA Saddler and Slater and Gordon. Shine Lawyers ran the class actions, understood at the time to be the largest ever legal win of its type, but were prevented from managing the settlement distribution scheme. When appointed in 2023, the settlement firms said they expected it could take 30 to 36 months to complete.
7NEWS
30-04-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Health Minister apologises to hundreds of women affected by botched product
The South Australian government has issued a formal apology to women affected by botched mesh products made by Johnson and Johnson, four years after a state parliament inquiry. The mesh implant was used by doctors to treat women who have pelvic floor disorders, including stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, which can happen after childbirth. Some implants were banned in 2017 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and a federal senate inquiry in 2018 found women who were suffering after having the mesh inserted were 'ignored' and 'treated appallingly' when they complained about the mesh. More than 10,000 Australian women registered for the class action launched by law firm Shine against medical device giant Johnson and Johnson, reaching a $300m settlement in 2022. In 2021 South Australia held its own inquiry, hearing from many injured women and their families, finding that the damage caused by failed mesh devices was likely to be more widespread than it was thought to be by the health system and medical profession. It also provided recommendations to improve services available to those affected. Health Minister Chris Picton on Wednesday acknowledged in parliament the life-altering complications for many women and some men across Australia from pelvic mesh procedures and apologised to South Australian victims. 'I am here to offer an apology on behalf of the South Australian government to all South Australians impacted by the medical failure of surgical mesh implants,' he said. 'I am sorry for the pain, embarrassment, and gaslighting you have endured. I am sorry for the times you questioned your own experiences, were dismissed by those who were meant to care for you, and had to fight to receive the appropriate, compassionate and quality care you deserved. 'It is our government's responsibility to continue to improve services for those seeking care. We need to improve education for primary care so no woman is left dealing with these injuries by herself. We are committed to doing what we can to ensure this doesn't happen again.' A public apology on behalf of the state government was a recommendation of a South Australian parliamentary enquiry in 2021, spearheaded by Torrens MP Dana Wortley, which examined the harm caused by pelvic mesh implants. Wortley said, ahead of International Mesh Awareness Day on Thursday, that she wanted to acknowledge all woman who gave their time in speaking to the inquiry. 'In recognition of International Mesh Awareness Day on May 1, we acknowledge the courage and the selflessness of all the women and men affected by failed medical mesh implantation who stood together in South Australia, to have their voices heard,' she said. 'We recognise those affected by failed medical mesh devices whose voices went unheard for so long, causing them enormous suffering, ridicule, and frustration, and we acknowledge also, the devastating impact it has had on their lives and that of their families. 'While we can't turn back the clock and change these events, we can learn from them and take steps to ensure they are never repeated. We have come some way, however, there is still more to be done. This is not a report that sits on a shelf only to gather dust.' In June 2023, the Royal Adelaide Hospital's Pelvic Mesh Clinic employed its first local and publicly credentialled urogynaecologist in over a decade. The clinic has performed 24 full mesh removals in the public health system, with 192 surgical procedures completed.
