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Texas justices axe $1.2M pelvic mesh verdict against Johnson & Johnson
Nov 10, 2015 | South East Texas Record
By David yates
The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas recently reversed a $1.2 million jury verdict rendered against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly designing a defective pelvic mesh product. -
HSN Star Diane Gilman Reveals Struggle with Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Nov 10, 2015 | People
By Ana Calderone
HSN designer Diane Gilman is opening up about her battle with pelvic organ prolapse in hopes of eliminating the stigma associated with the condition. -
Diane Gilman, HSN’s jean queen, opens up about surgery to correct severe pelvic organ prolapse
Nov 10, 2015 | NY Daily News
By Jacqueline Cutler
The woman known as the Home Shopping Network’s “Jean Queen” is sharing the dramatic story of how her pelvic organs began to fall through her vagina.
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Texas justices axe $1.2M pelvic mesh verdict against Johnson & Johnson
Nov 10, 2015 | South East Texas Record
By David yates
The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas recently reversed a $1.2 million jury verdict rendered against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly designing a defective pelvic mesh product.
Linda Batiste, who justices say has a “complex” medical history, filed suit against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Ethicon, in Dallas County, alleging she was injured by the defendants’ polypropylene mesh.
A jury found the medical product, the TVT-Obturator, was defectively designed, awarding Batiste $1.2 million in damages, court records show.Johnson & Johnson appealed the judgment last July, arguing the trial court erroneously: excluded all FDA evidence; excluded evidence from independent physician organizations that contradicted the plaintiff’s theories of injury; and admitted evidence of other lawsuits and unverified issue reports.
On Nov. 5 Fifth Court justices found that Batiste was required to prove a specific defect in the TVT-O, and not simply the device itself, which is known to sometimes cause a number of complications.
“Because Batiste failed to offer legally sufficient evidence that any alleged defect in the TVT-O was the producing cause of her injuries, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and render judgment that Batiste take nothing,” the opinion states.
“Although Batiste alleged the TVT-O was defective based on its use of mechanically cut, heavyweight, small-pore mesh that was subject to degradation and particle loss, she failed to produce more than a scintilla of evidence that any of these alleged defects caused her injuries. Accordingly, the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury’s verdict.”
According to the opinion, Batiste has a complex medical history. She has had nine abdominal surgeries, including two “C-sections,” two open abdominal procedures, and five laparoscopic procedures. In 2003, she had a stroke that left her disabled. She had a second stroke in 2007.
Due to spinal disease, she has undergone four surgeries in her lower back and one surgery in her neck. Following a heart attack, a stent was placed through her femoral artery to address a ninety-five percent blockage in her right coronary artery.
Batiste has also been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a result of smoking and suffers from poorly controlled diabetes.
The TVT-O was implanted to treat her stress urinary incontinence, the opinion states.
Johnson & Johnson is represented in part by Scott Stolley, attorney for the Dallas law firm Thompson & Knight.
Batiste is represented in part by Tim Goss of Freese & Goss, a Dallas firm.
Case No. January 31, 2006864-CV -
HSN Star Diane Gilman Reveals Struggle with Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Nov 10, 2015 | People
By Ana Calderone
HSN designer Diane Gilman is opening up about her battle with pelvic organ prolapse in hopes of eliminating the stigma associated with the condition.
The creator of DG2 jeans had symptoms of the disorder – which is often caused by natural childbirth or menopause and can lead the cervix, bladder and vagina to drop or fall out of the body – for eight years before undergoing surgery.
"It's so equal to us being a freak to have this condition, especially at the point I had it, that you don't talk about it," Gilman, 70, tells PEOPLE. "You craft your entire life around hiding this."
Her symptoms became so severe, says Gilman, that she was often stopped by TSA agents in airport security lines and accused of hiding something between her legs.
"The first time it happened, I was getting on a flight to Italy. And I just said to the women, 'What you're going to see is going to horrify you,' " she says. "By the time we came out of the room, they were in tears. They were weeping for me."
The disorder – which studies say can affect up to 40 percent of women – caused Gilman to isolate herself. Like most sufferers, she was reluctant to seek help.
"The condition was so uncomfortable and you never felt clean. It was just awful," she says. "I stopped going out, I had no social life. I came to work, designed, did shows and spent the rest of my time alone, shielding myself from a normal world."
Once the fashion guru's condition "got too intense to deal with," she decided to have corrective surgery by specialist Dr. Alan Garely – and managed to regain control of her life.
"I feel 20 years younger. I feel really optimistic," she says. "Now I can lead a super active life, which is who I am."And she is also ready to give back. Gilman is hosting a fundraising gala on Dec. 10 to develop a Women's Center at South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y., where she had her surgery. Besides raising money, she hopes to increase awareness about the condition so no one else has to "suffer in silence."
"I did wait too long but I waited too long out of silence and ignorance. Why should women suffer the indignities from this condition that I suffered?" she says. "I think the more you know, the better off you are. And if no one's going to discuss it but me, then I'm going to discuss it." -
Diane Gilman, HSN’s jean queen, opens up about surgery to correct severe pelvic organ prolapse
Nov 10, 2015 | NY Daily News
By Jacqueline Cutler
The woman known as the Home Shopping Network’s “Jean Queen” is sharing the dramatic story of how her pelvic organs began to fall through her vagina.
Diane Gilman is going public with her severe case of pelvic organ prolapse — a condition that in her case was aggravated by not seeing a doctor for eight years.
The creator of DG2 jeans was too embarrassed to mention the disorder, most common in women who have delivered vaginally and gone through menopause. Experts say up to 40 percent of women may experience some version of the problem.
Organs like the cervix and bladder can drop and, if left untreated, eventually start to fall through the body, through the vagina.
“It’s so equal to us being a freak to have this condition, especially at the point I had it, that you don’t talk about it,” Gilman, 70, tells People. “You craft your entire life around hiding this.”
Her symptoms became so severe, says Gilman, that she was often stopped by TSA agents in airport security lines and accused of hiding something between her legs.
“The first time it happened, I was getting on a flight to Italy. And I just said to the women, ‘What you’re going to see is going to horrify you,’” she says to the magazine. “By the time we came out of the room, they were in tears. They were weeping for me.”
Had Gilman sought treatment earlier, she could have saved herself years of worry and embarrassment, says Manhattan urologist Dr. David Shusterman.
“It can be prevented,” Shusterman says. “If they see something coming out of the vagina, that’s a good sign that you need to see a doctor.”
“Everything can be put back or removed,” he adds. “Surgery can correct it. It is not a stigma.”
But the condition made Gilman so uncomfortable, she ceased her social life.
“I came to work, designed, did shows and spent the rest of my time alone, shielding myself from a normal world,” Gilman says.
Once she had the surgery, she felt much better — and that’s why she's speaking out now.
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