The first Johnson & Johnson vaginal mesh case has gone to trial, and the manufacturer lost big—the jury came back with a $3.35 million verdict. Making things worse for Johnson & Johnson, that was only the compensatory damages award. The jury was told to go back and decide punitive damages, and they rendered a verdict of $7.76 million. That’s a total verdict of $11.11 million, against a company with assets of $121.3 billion. Sounds like a lot to us, but it’s a barely noticeable drop in the bucket for Johnson & Johnson—less than 0.0091%.
Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits
These products, also called transvaginal mesh, vaginal slings, bladder slings and surgical mesh, are intended to reinforce a woman’s body to help keep internal organs in place. It’s related to the mesh used to keep hernias in place, and is typically used to treat conditions like pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.
The problem with these products (which are made by many different manufacturers), is that they frequently fail and cause bleeding, pelvic pain, urinary problems, infections and painful sexual intercourse. These are truly horrible injuries, and often require surgery to repair. Those surgeries don’t always correct all injuries, though, and many women must live with a lifetime of pain.
The Linda Goss Trial
The jury made several findings in the recent verdict for Linda Goss. They decided that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn the woman’s surgeon of the risks, and fraudulently misled her. However, they declined to find that the product was defective. She had to have 18 operations after the initial implantation.
This is the first of many trials against Johnson & Johnson to come. There was also a recent plaintiffs’ victory against another manufacturer, C.R. Bard, in the amount of $5.5 million.
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If you have questions about any medical device injury or product liability case, contact our personal injury lawyers at 1-800-776-4529, or send us some brief information about your case online.
