Let me start by saying we are NOT sue-happy. In fact, DH and I think most lawsuits are stupid, a waste of time and just a way for lawyers to make money and tie up the legal system. However, DH is part of a class action lawsuit against a medical company that I think is fully warranted.
Here's the story. DH had a hernia mesh patch implanted Sept 2005. Shortly after that he started having problems with sharp stabbing pains in one spot, nausea and spiking fevers. This resulted in time off from work and numerous hospital and doctor visits (DH also has Crohn's disease and he thought the symptoms were a result of them).
We found out the patches (at least that lot number) were recalled in Dec 2005. HOWEVER, we did not find out about the recall until the fall of 2007 so DH suffered for 2 years because of this. The recall notice the company sent out to the hospitals was just to take them off the shelves. It did not specifically state to notify the patients that received these patches that there may be a problem and because of the privacy act the hospitals were not allowed to go through records to see who received those patches. Hence the lawsuit. It has nothing to do with it being defective, it has to do with not instructing the hospitals to warn the patients of the dangers. We actually found out about the recall because my MIL saw an add in the paper from a law firm saying "if you got a hernia patch and have had these symptoms, call us".
So DH went back to the surgeon and made him aware of the recall (the doctor wasn't even informed of this, it was just to take them off the shelves) and they did exploratory surgery to see what the problem was. From what the doctor told me that day and from the doctor's report we sent to the lawyers, the ring that goes around the mesh was broken in 3 pieces and the mesh was curled at exactly the place he was having the stabbing pain. Also, the mesh was adhered to internal organs (the doctor's report doesn't state what organs, but that doesn't sound good).
Anyway, we joined the lawsuit because if DH had been notified of this he could have had it looked at 4 months after the initial surgery instead of 2 years after and it would have saved him 2 years of pain and misery.
So to make a long story even longer, they went to court on one case and he was awarded 1.3 million dollars so the company decided to settle out of court. Our law firm was awarded a certain amount and all the cases were sent to a "Special Master" who evaluated the info provided and determined an amount awarded. He got his packet on Thursday. His settlement is $3,500. After the lawyers take their fee we would get $1,200. That doesn't even cover time off work, much less the doctor fees.
When looking over the packet, it includes (I assume) the information that was sent to the special master. It doesn't mention the fact that the mesh was folded (which would put him up to $23,000) or that the ring was broke (which would put him up to $50,000).
My question is does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? It doesn't seem like the person evaluating the cases was give all the info. Can we have it re-evaluated? If we don't agree to this will it go to court or are we giving up $1,200? I mean, believe me, an extra $1,200 would help right now, but if the special master wasn't given all the info then we would like enough to pay off the bills.
Oh, and another thing, in the packet they included a breakdown of who got what and what is left over. The law firm we are with was awarded over $9,000,000 dollars and the breakdown shows only $7,000,000 was awarded. Does that give them room to play with for people like us, or are they pocketing the money?
Sorry this is so long, but I'm heart broken. We thought we would get enough to at least pay off a few bills and be able to breathe. Should we fight it or not?
Here's the story. DH had a hernia mesh patch implanted Sept 2005. Shortly after that he started having problems with sharp stabbing pains in one spot, nausea and spiking fevers. This resulted in time off from work and numerous hospital and doctor visits (DH also has Crohn's disease and he thought the symptoms were a result of them).
We found out the patches (at least that lot number) were recalled in Dec 2005. HOWEVER, we did not find out about the recall until the fall of 2007 so DH suffered for 2 years because of this. The recall notice the company sent out to the hospitals was just to take them off the shelves. It did not specifically state to notify the patients that received these patches that there may be a problem and because of the privacy act the hospitals were not allowed to go through records to see who received those patches. Hence the lawsuit. It has nothing to do with it being defective, it has to do with not instructing the hospitals to warn the patients of the dangers. We actually found out about the recall because my MIL saw an add in the paper from a law firm saying "if you got a hernia patch and have had these symptoms, call us".
So DH went back to the surgeon and made him aware of the recall (the doctor wasn't even informed of this, it was just to take them off the shelves) and they did exploratory surgery to see what the problem was. From what the doctor told me that day and from the doctor's report we sent to the lawyers, the ring that goes around the mesh was broken in 3 pieces and the mesh was curled at exactly the place he was having the stabbing pain. Also, the mesh was adhered to internal organs (the doctor's report doesn't state what organs, but that doesn't sound good).
Anyway, we joined the lawsuit because if DH had been notified of this he could have had it looked at 4 months after the initial surgery instead of 2 years after and it would have saved him 2 years of pain and misery.
So to make a long story even longer, they went to court on one case and he was awarded 1.3 million dollars so the company decided to settle out of court. Our law firm was awarded a certain amount and all the cases were sent to a "Special Master" who evaluated the info provided and determined an amount awarded. He got his packet on Thursday. His settlement is $3,500. After the lawyers take their fee we would get $1,200. That doesn't even cover time off work, much less the doctor fees.
When looking over the packet, it includes (I assume) the information that was sent to the special master. It doesn't mention the fact that the mesh was folded (which would put him up to $23,000) or that the ring was broke (which would put him up to $50,000).
My question is does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? It doesn't seem like the person evaluating the cases was give all the info. Can we have it re-evaluated? If we don't agree to this will it go to court or are we giving up $1,200? I mean, believe me, an extra $1,200 would help right now, but if the special master wasn't given all the info then we would like enough to pay off the bills.
Oh, and another thing, in the packet they included a breakdown of who got what and what is left over. The law firm we are with was awarded over $9,000,000 dollars and the breakdown shows only $7,000,000 was awarded. Does that give them room to play with for people like us, or are they pocketing the money?
Sorry this is so long, but I'm heart broken. We thought we would get enough to at least pay off a few bills and be able to breathe. Should we fight it or not?