JACKSON, Miss. -- A company that failed to adequately inform women of dangerous side effects related to permanent pelvic mesh devices will be required to pay $60 million, according to a settlement announced this week by state attorney generals across the U.S.
The money from C.R. Bard Inc. and its parent company Becton, Dickinson and Co., will be spread out among 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said the state will get $798,453 from the settlement.
"Arkansas women have been deceived by what they believed were safe products by C.R Bard, Inc. and have experienced physical and emotional pain due to this oversight," Rutledge said Friday in a statement. "Women should be able to trust the medical products being used on their bodies and know their health and wellness will not be compromised."
Troy Kirkpatrick, a spokesperson for Becton, Dickinson, said Friday morning that C.R. Bard and its parent company have denied any allegations of wrongdoing. He said the company chose to settle the matter "to avoid the time and expense of further litigation."
The litigation involving C.R. Bard's pelvic mesh product began before its acquisition of the company in 2017. Kirkpatrick said "ensuring the safety and quality of products has always been the top priority at BD" and that the company is in full compliance with laws and regulations.
C.R. Bard is just the latest manufacturer of transvaginal mesh, a net-like implant used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, to be required by the court to pay a large sum.
In 2019, after patients reported serious complications -- including erosion of mesh through organs, pain during sexual intercourse, and voiding dysfunction -- the Food and Drug Administration banned sales of all mesh products used for pelvic organ prolapse repair.
In October of last year, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay a $117 million settlement with 41 states and the District of Columbia over similar allegations involving the mesh devices. In January, a judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay nearly $344 million in additional penalties for deceptive marketing of the product.