A lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Charleston on behalf of a Lincoln County woman accuses Boston Scientific Corp. of engaging in a conspiracy to smuggle material from China for use in vaginal surgical mesh.
Unlike hundreds of other lawsuits filed against Boston Scientific over defective mesh, the lawsuit filed Tuesday, on behalf of Teresa Stevens, was filed under the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act. The U.S. Justice Department typically uses the RICO statute and penalties to target criminal organizations, but private citizens can seek to apply it in civil cases.
The lawsuit claims that after Boston Scientific lost its U.S. supplier of synthetic resin to produce mesh, it bought unverified, substandard material from a counterfeiter in China.
"The company took extraordinary measures to avoid being caught by U.S. and Chinese authorities, at times acting like a drug dealer to hide multiple overseas shipments," said a news release from Houston-based Mostyn Law, which is representing the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit asks that a judge grant class action status on behalf of thousands of women who had the mesh implanted. It asks for a judge to immediately stop the company from continuing to sell the mesh, which allegedly has been made with toxic ingredients.
Boston Scientific released a statement last week vowing to fight the lawsuit and stating that the case has been brought without merit.
Plaintiffs attorneys have provided information to the Department of Justice about the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Ruby said Friday his office could not confirm or deny the existence an investigation.
For the past several years, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin in Charleston has been handling thousands of cases over the implantation of vaginal mesh as part of federal litigation across the country.
Boston Scientific has had more than 30,000 cases filed against it over mesh.
Women claim the mesh produced by multiple companies degrades and shrinks, requiring replacement and causing other medical problems. The mesh was implanted to treat, among other things, stress urinary incontinence, which is usually caused by weak pelvic muscles.
Reach Kate White at
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