Gary Northrup v. Covidien, LP.

I. Background

23 Plaintiff Gary Northrup underwent abdominal surgery in 2008. 24 He subsequently developed bowel obstructions in 2009 and 2011. 25 Plaintiff underwent a second abdominal surgery in September 2011, 26 during which the surgeon observed that it “looked like a bomb went 27 off” in Plaintiff’s abdomen. The surgeon repaired four or five 28 small hernias. In December 2012, Plaintiff was diagnosed with another hernia. Dr. Lawrence Kong recommended surgical repair with mesh. Due to the complexity of the repair as a result of Plaintiff’s prior abdominal surgeries, Dr. Kong referred Plaintiff to Dr. Deron Tessier. Dr. Tessier performed the hernia repair surgery in September 2013. Dr. Tessier observed “extensive adhesions” of Plaintiff’s bowel to the abdominal wall. Dr. Tessier repaired Plaintiff’s hernia with a “PCOx” mesh, manufactured by Covidien’s subsidiary. PCOx, short for Parietex Optimized Composite Mesh, is made of polyester, with a resorbable collagen coating on one side. In March 2016, Plaintiff presented with abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. (Declaration of Jessica Wilson ISO MSJ, Ex. 28.) …