Jury Awards Patient $3.35M in Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit

A New Jersey jury's decision to award $3.35 million in damages to a patient who suffered complications from Ethicon's transvaginal mesh could be a significant turning point in the product's continuing liability litigation, according to observers. Particularly since a previous jury ordered C.R. Bard to pay $3.6 million in the first transvaginal mesh case to reach trial, and since more than 11,000 similar lawsuits against 5 manufacturers still await disposition.

In the present case, former South Dakota nurse Linda Gross alleged that complications from and erosion of Ethicon's Gynecare Prolift caused her pain, scar tissue, inflammation and neurological issues.

Attorneys observing the case argue that the Prolift mesh never received the FDA's approval. Instead, Ethicon marketed it as a comparable product to its existing Gynecare Gynemesh. "Internal e-mails show the pharmaceutical company was aware of the failure rate during testing, disregarded the potential risks, and placed the implant on the market for sale," say the attorneys. The company withdrew its transvaginal meshes from the market last year.

"This may be the most significant women's health litigation in American history by the time all of the cases have been decided," said Ben Anderson, one of Ms. Gross's lawyers, in a statement. "The medical and scientific evidence at trial in support of the claims was clear, compelling, and largely unchallenged by the defendants."

Before it's all over, the transvaginal mesh litigation may total more than 100,000 cases and billions of dollars in settlements. At a hearing next week, the New Jersey jury will decide whether to add nearly $17 million in punitive damages to the compensatory damages it awarded Ms. Gross.

"We have presented evidence to the jury during the punitive phase of the trial, which followed a mixed verdict by the jury," said Sheri Woodruff, vice president of communications for Ethicon Surgical Care, in a statement. "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."

Stephanie Wasek