A jury said on Monday that Johnson & Johnson should pay a South Dakota woman $3.35 million for failing to warn her doctor adequately of the potential dangers of a vaginal mesh implant made by the company’s Ethicon subsidiary, and for misrepresenting the product in brochures.
It was the first verdict among some 1,800 vaginal mesh cases pending in New Jersey against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, and it could affect thousands of lawsuits against other manufacturers of similar products.
The lawsuit, in state Superior Court in Atlantic City, was brought by Linda Gross, 47, of Watertown, S.D., in November 2008. It asserted that the Gynecare Prolift vaginal mesh was not safe and that J.& J. and Ethicon were liable, among other things, for “their defective design, manufacture, warnings and instructions.”
The Ethicon product, before being taken off the American market last year, was used to treat pelvic organ collapse, a condition for which the plaintiff, a nurse, was treated in November 2008. That condition occurs when tissue that holds the pelvic organs in place is weak or stretched and bulges into the vagina.
Ms. Gross filed her lawsuit after having an operation in 2006 to install a Gynecare Prolift for pelvic prolapse. Her suit said the operation led to a variety of problems, including mesh erosion, scar tissue, inflammation and “neurologic compromise.”
The suit said she had to seek medical treatment and had 18 operations to repair the damage caused by the mesh.
Ben Anderson, a member of the trial team for the plaintiff, called the jury verdict “a strong statement to Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon that they cannot put profits before women’s safety.”
The verdict, by a panel of six women and three men, followed a six-week trial before Judge Carol Higbee. After the verdict was delivered, the judge ruled that she would allow arguments on punitive damages, beginning on Tuesday.
Sheri Woodruff, a spokeswoman for Ethicon, said, “While we are always concerned when a patient experiences medical conditions like those suffered by the plaintiff, all surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse present risks of complications.”
Johnson & Johnson Told to Pay $3.35 Million in Vaginal Mesh Case
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Johnson & Johnson Told to Pay $3.35 Million in Vaginal Mesh Case
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Johnson & Johnson Told to Pay $3.35 Million in Vaginal Mesh Case
