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Ethicon Oct 15
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Judge Won't Restrict Mesh Lawyers' Communications With Doctors
Oct 14, 2015 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
A federal judge in West Virginia declined Ethicon Inc's request to place strict limitations on ex parte communications between lawyers and treating physicians for women suing over Ethicon Inc's transvaginal mesh, although she did place some ground rules on their interactions. -
Boston Sci Transvaginal Mesh Verdict Cut
Oct 14, 2015 | Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry
By Marie Thibault
In May 2015, a Delaware state court ordered Boston Scientific to pay $100 million in damages to a female plaintiff that a jury found was injured by the company's transvaginal mesh products. That was seen as a tremendous victory for the plaintiff, given the $119 million Boston Scientific had previously agreed... -
Delaware Court Reduces $100m Transvaginal Mesh Verdict To $10m
Oct 14, 2015 | Seeking Alpha
By Douglas W. House
In a partial victory for Boston Scientific (BSX +0.1%), a Delaware court reduces a $100M verdict award in to a woman in May for injuries allegedly suffered from the company's transvaginal mesh device to $10M. Judge Mary Johnston referred to the original award as "grossly disproportionate to the injuries suffered... -
Surgical Funder Ordered To Turn Over Information On Hip Surgeries
Oct 14, 2015 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
A federal judge has ordered a surgical funding company to turn over information about payments it made to healthcare providers for surgeries performed on plaintiffs suing over artificial hips made by a unit of Johnson & Johnson.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
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Judge Won't Restrict Mesh Lawyers' Communications With Doctors
Oct 14, 2015 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
A federal judge in West Virginia declined Ethicon Inc's request to place strict limitations on ex parte communications between lawyers and treating physicians for women suing over Ethicon Inc's transvaginal mesh, although she did place some ground rules on their interactions.
On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert in the Southern District of West Virginia said that placing a "blanket restriction" limiting communications between plaintiffs' lawyers and treating physicians solely to matters involving the patient's treatment would be like "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."
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Boston Sci Transvaginal Mesh Verdict Cut
Oct 14, 2015 | Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry
By Marie Thibault
In May 2015, a Delaware state court ordered Boston Scientific to pay $100 million in damages to a female plaintiff that a jury found was injured by the company's transvaginal mesh products. That was seen as a tremendous victory for the plaintiff, given the $119 million Boston Scientific had previously agreed to pay to settle 2,970 other transvaginal mesh suits.
That victory was short-lived.
Now, Reuters reports that Delaware judge Mary Johnston has reduced the damages to $10 million after finding the prior damages were "grossly disproportionate to the injuries suffered and shock the court's conscience and sense of justice."
Back in May, a statement from Motley Rice, the law firm representing Barba, explained that Barba was implanted with Boston Scientific's Advantage Fit and Pinnacle transvaginal mesh products in 2009 to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. After implantation, she suffered complications and underwent two surgeries, but some mesh remains.
According to Reuters, Judge Johnston pointed to damages awards in other transvaginal mesh trials that ranged from $1.75 million to $7.76 million. Reuters notes that while ordering the lower award, the judge agreed with the jury's liability decision, so did not grant Boston Scientific's request to throw out the original verdict and start a new trial.
Fred Thompson, of Motley Rice, told MD+DI that while he is disappointed in the reduction in damages awarded, "the numbers [Judge Johnston] left us with are very substantial." He likened the latest decision to a hurdle in a lengthy race and pointed out that the judge's reaffirmation of the jury's verdict on liability is an important win for plaintiffs.
In an e-mail to MD+DI, a Boston Scientific spokesperson wrote, "We appreciate that the trial court reduced the verdict by 90 percent; however, we believe there were factual and legal errors underlying the verdict. We plan to appeal."
Boston Scientific notes in an August SEC filing following its second quarter earnings report that, "As of August 5, 2015, there were over 27,000 product liability cases or claims related to transvaginal surgical mesh products designed to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse pending against us."
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Delaware Court Reduces $100m Transvaginal Mesh Verdict To $10m
Oct 14, 2015 | Seeking Alpha
By Douglas W. House
In a partial victory for Boston Scientific (BSX +0.1%), a Delaware court reduces a $100M verdict award in to a woman in May for injuries allegedly suffered from the company's transvaginal mesh device to $10M. Judge Mary Johnston referred to the original award as "grossly disproportionate to the injuries suffered and shocks the court's conscience and sense of justice." The company wanted the entire verdict set aside and a new trial, but the judge denied the request. It intends to appeal the decision.
In April, it settled 2,970 mesh-related lawsuits for $119M. Many more remain outstanding, however, for the company and fellow mesh manufacturers Johnson and Johnson (JNJ -1.3%) an C.R. Bard (BCR -0.1%).
Previously: Boston Scientific on the hook for $100M in Delaware transvaginal mesh trial (May 28)
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Surgical Funder Ordered To Turn Over Information On Hip Surgeries
Oct 14, 2015 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
A federal judge has ordered a surgical funding company to turn over information about payments it made to healthcare providers for surgeries performed on plaintiffs suing over artificial hips made by a unit of Johnson & Johnson .
DePuy Orthopaedics in August sought to compel Texas-based MedStar Funding to hand over the information, saying it was concerned that Medstar was trying to squeeze excessive profits from liens it had placed against personal-injury settlements for 11 hip plaintiffs.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David Katz in Toledo, Ohio, granted the motion and directed Medstar to comply by Nov. 13.
"DePuy's request for billing and payment information is necessary to properly assess the validity of the liens," Katz wrote.
Surgical funders like MedStar essentially invest in operations on injured plaintiffs. If a litigant cannot afford surgery to correct problems blamed on a medical device, the funder will step in to purchase their medical bills at a deep discount from physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers. When the patient's lawsuit settles, the funder reaps a profit by placing a lien on the settlement for the full amount of the patient's bill.
Following a Reuters report about the role of MedStar in pelvic-mesh litigation, DePuy asked Katz for permission to probe MedStar liens for the 11 plaintiffs suing over its ASR hip implants.
DePuy agreed to pay $2.5 billion in 2013 to settle approximately 8,000 personal-injury claims over its all-metal ASR hip implants, which some patients said could cause pain and joint dislocation. An unusual feature in that settlement allows lienholders to seek payment directly from the company, rather than the plaintiff's settlement.
According to DePuy, MedStar submitted claims for nearly $1.5 million for medical care that should have cost no more than $336,000. DePuy said MedStar is trying to collect four times what DePuy considers to be a reasonable cost and that it should be allowed to see what MedStar paid to healthcare providers.
DePuy said the information will help it determine what portion of MedStar's lien demands were directly related to surgeries for plaintiffs' ASR hip devices, as opposed to unrelated issues such as neck injuries, or psychological evaluations.
MedStar founder Dan Christensen said in court filings that it did not mark up plaintiffs' invoices. Plaintiffs turned to MedStar for funding because they were uninsured or their insurance did not fully cover the necessary procedures, he said.
In previous comments to Reuters, Christensen said MedStar's claims in the DePuy hip implant litigation are "usual, customary and reasonable." A medical pricing expert retained by MedStar deemed the bills it submitted to DePuy to be within 4 percent of typical hip replacement charges, according to Christensen.
Christensen did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday. A DePuy spokeswoman declined to comment.
MedStar faced a similar order compelling it to hand over information in the pelvic-mesh cases. Manufacturers like Endo International's American Medical Systems, Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon subsidiary, Boston Scientific and C.R. Bard obtained records and deposition testimony related to MedStar after learning a MedStar representative was soliciting physicians to perform mesh removal surgery.
In August, Reuters reported that funders' liens on patients' settlements in the pelvic mesh litigation sometimes spiraled to as much as 10 times what private insurers or government programs like Medicaid would pay for the same procedures. MedStar has said that it is medical providers, not funders, who determine how much procedures cost.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
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