On July 25, 2013, Judge Joseph Goodwin will hear presentations submitted by counsel for consideration for selection as bellwether cases in the Johnson & Johnson Ethicon Gynecare transvaginal mesh cases. Based on this procedure, Judge Goodwin will then select which cases will then be tried. It is expected that he will select 5 cases from a pool of 16 cases, with each side submitting 8 cases. Expert reports will then be exchanged according to his Federal Rules and Expert discovery is slated to be completed by the end of October, 2013 and case specific discovery completed by November 15, 2013
There are over 12,000 transvaginal mesh cases involving all of the leading manufacturers before Judge Goodwin, nearly 4,000 of which are J&J’s Ethicon division Gynecare.
There have been two trials so far, both resulting in Plaintiff’s verdicts. However, the facts in these cases are different from many of the pending cases. In July 2012, a California jury awarded Christine Scott and her husband $5.5 million after she underwent nine revision surgeries. Scott sued C.R. Bard in 2009 over its Avaulta Plus mesh product. In February 2013, Linda Gross won $11.11 million in her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon brand over its Prolift vaginal mesh product. Gross had 18 surgeries. The New Jersey jury found that J&J failed to warn patients and doctors about the risks of its mesh products and made fraudulent misrepresentations.
Discovery is continuing in the MDL leading up to projected trials in the near future. Over 12,000 women have filed suits detailing their injuries from the mesh inserted in them. We believe that ultimately the cause of their injuries will be shown to be the defects in the mesh products and the absence of appropriate warnings. If you would like more information, check the video below, go to our website, or contact us at 1-800-481-1615 or email us.
Complications Linked to Transvaginal Mesh After Pelvic Organ Prolapse Surgery
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