Ethicon Hit With $120 Million Pelvic Mesh Verdict
The verdict came after a three-week trial, and the award included $20 million in compensatory damages, as well as $100 million in punitive damages.
April 25, 2019 at 05:00 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Legal Intelligencer
A Philadelphia jury has hit Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon with a $120 million verdict for allegedly failing to warn about the dangers of one of its pelvic mesh products.
The verdict came down Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Powell's courtroom after three weeks of trial, and included $20 million in compensatory damages, as well as $100 million in punitive damages.
The verdict marks the seventh time a Philadelphia jury has issued a multimillion-dollar verdict against Ethicon over one of its pelvic mesh products, and it also marks the first time a Philadelphia jury has awarded more than $100 million in a pelvic mesh case.
The plaintiff in the case, Susan McFarland, a 68-year-old from Altoona, Pennsylvania, had Ethicon's TVT-O pelvic mesh product implanted in 2008 to treat urinary incontinence, but she claimed that the plastic eroded, causing pain and chronic uterine tract infections. She, as well as nearly 90 plaintiffs with claims pending in Philadelphia, contended that Ethicon failed to properly warn about the dangers of the product.
Kline & Specter Tracie Palmer was lead counsel for McFarland, along with Braden Lepisto.
“This verdict speaks volumes. This is a product still on the market and the jury's message to Johnson and Johnson is take this product off the market for the health and safety of America's women,” Palmer said.
Kate Skagerberg of Beck Redden was lead counsel for Ethicon. The company was also represented by Adam Spice of Butler Snow and Alicia Hickok of Drinker Biddle & Reath.
In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman for Ethicon said the award was “inconsistent with the science, Ethicon's actions, and previous verdicts related to our TVT-O product, which continues to be the gold standard of treatment for stress urinary incontinence.”
“We believe the evidence showed Ethicon's TVT-O device was properly designed and that Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the product. Unfortunately, the jury was not permitted to hear critical evidence related to the FDA's review and classification of these devices, which we believe significantly influenced the verdict and punitive award in this case,” spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley said, adding that the company plans to appeal the verdict.
The case, McFarland v. Ethicon, was also subject to several efforts by Ethicon to have Powell removed from hearing any pelvic mesh cases.
In March, Ethicon, which is the primary defendant in the pelvic mesh mass tort in Philadelphia, made a motion, arguing that Powell needed to be removed from hearing any of the cases because his mother brought suit against another J&J subsidiary over the blood thinner Xarelto. According to the company, Powell failed to properly disclose his mother's lawsuit until after he presided over one trial and was assigned to handle another.
Those efforts, however, were dismissed by the court.
The verdict in McFarland is the latest in a series of multimillion-dollar verdicts that Philadelphia juries have awarded plaintiffs in the pelvic mesh litigation, including Hammons v. Ethicon, which resulted in a $12.5 million verdict in 2015, and Emmett v. Ethicon, which ended in a $41 million verdict in January. The award, however, also came one week after a Philadelphia jury handed Ethicon a rare defense win.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllDrugmaker Wins $70.5M After Fed Judge Says Generic Sales Were Blocked
4 minute read3rd Circuit Revives Class Action Against Bayer Over Benzene-Contaminated Products
4 minute readBristol-Myers Squibb Wins Dismissal of $6.4 Billion Lawsuit Alleging Intentional Delay of Cancer Drug
Trending Stories
- 1Revenue Up at Homegrown Texas Firms Through Q3, Though Demand Slipped Slightly
- 2Warner Bros. Accused of Misleading Investors on NBA Talks
- 3FTC Settles With Security Firm Over AI Claims Under Agency's Compliance Program
- 4'Water Cooler Discussions': US Judge Questions DOJ Request in Google Search Case
- 5Court rejects request to sideline San Jose State volleyball player on grounds she’s transgender
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250