The judge presiding over a collection of more than 30 lawsuits against power morcellator manufacturer Ethicon has triaged the discovery process to give priority to plaintiffs in dire health. Judge James P. O’Hara agreed to most of the terms of a jointly proposed order presented by the parties. The products... Read more »

A congressman has called for the FDA to investigate several hospitals on grounds that they failed to report deaths believed to have been brought on by power morcellators. Mike Fitzpatrick, a Representative from Pennsylvania, has taken up the mission of constituents who were left widowed and now blame the device. The... Read more »

A Louisiana couple has filed a lawsuit against Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc., claiming that the company’s morcellator products are defective. Audrey Radford had a laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy with uterine morcellation on Dec. 15, 2014. Very shortly afterwards, she found out that she had uterine cancer. Prior to the procedure, there... Read more »

The latest studies to be published regarding power morcellation have found that fewer doctors are using the devices on patients. The research has also discovered that power morcellation can lower the survival rates among patients. Power morcellators are devices that surgeons often use during a hysterectomy or a myomectomy. A hysterectomy is... Read more »

A date has been set for the initial status conference for all Ethicon morcellator lawsuits that have been consolidated under multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. U.S. The Honorable Kathyryn H. Vratil issued an order on Oct. 16 stated that the meeting will take... Read more »

A request by a number of plaintiffs in power morcellator lawsuits has been granted by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, thus creating a consolidated federal docket in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Pretrial proceedings for cases alleging a connection between power morcellators and cancer will... Read more »

A new study on power morcellation was recently accepted for publication by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The researchers took a close look at the risks of power morcellation compared with the potential benefits of laparoscopic surgery over open surgery. They also hinted that a recently touted technique,... Read more »

Even as power morcellation lawsuits continue to be filed, consolidation of existing cases is under consideration. The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has scheduled a hearing session on October 1 to determine whether coordination of lawsuits involving similar allegations against power morcellator manufacturers would benefit those involved in... Read more »

Questions have been raised recently about the safety of power morcellators used during gynecologic surgeries, with some healthcare advocates calling for a complete ban on the medical devices because of the risk of spreading cancer during morcellation. Adding fuel to the fire, Congressman Michael Burgess, a Tea Party Republican from... Read more »

An amendment proposed by Representative Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA.) was added to the 21st Century Cures Act before it passed the House. The bill would implement many healthcare reforms and has been widely touted, given its bipartisan support. However, some experts, including leading consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, have been staunchly... Read more »