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By Marilyn McGoldrick, Esq.

An Indiana woman was awarded $12.5 million dollars against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit in damages for the injuries she suffered from their ProLift transvaginal mesh implant. The Court of Common Pleas jury awarded $5.5 million dollars in compensatory damages and added $7 million dollars in punitive damages to punish Johnson & Johnson for recklessly marketing the device.

Plaintiff Patricia Hammons, age 65, underwent surgery in 2009 for bladder prolapse, and received a ProLift pelvic organ prolapse repair kit to support the area. Shortly after the surgery, she experienced pain, including painful sexual intercourse, and had several corrective surgeries attempting to remove the mesh which had bunched up inside her pelvis.

Plaintiff’s experts testified that completely removing the mesh was exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, describing it as a “surgical train wreck”.  In testimony that may have influenced the jury’s award of punitive damages, J&J’s own product engineer Scott Ciarrocca testified that no one at the company had given any thought as to what to do if the product failed.

Nationwide, there have been 16 verdicts against Johnson & Johnson for defective pelvic mesh implants, totaling $247 million dollars. It is estimated that there are over 100,000 cases pending nationwide against Johnson & Johnson and the other makers of transvaginal mesh products.

Thornton Law Firm’s pelvic mesh team represents women in claims against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit, as well as  against Boston Scientific, Caldera, Coloplast, Cook Medical, C.R. Bard, Inc., Mentor Worldwide, and Sofradim/Covidien. If you have a transvaginal mesh implant and have experienced any side effects, including infection, pain, bleeding, mesh erosion, mesh contraction, urinary problems, severe pelvic pain, vaginal tightening or shortening, painful sexual intercourse, inability to engage in sexual intercourse, additional surgeries, or organ perforation, and would like a no-obligation, completely confidential evaluation of your legal claim, please call us at our toll free number 1-888-341-1405, or tell us your story using our online contact form. The legal time limits for filing claims are very short, so do not delay seeking legal advice.