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Ethicon Mesh Verdict
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J&J unit ordered to pay $57.1M to Pa. woman in pelvic mesh suit
Sep 7, 2017 | Philadelphia Inquirer
By Sam Wood
A Philadelphia jury on Thursday ordered a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson to pay $57.1 million in damages to a Pennsylvania woman who was left chronically incontinent and in constant pain after receiving defective pelvic mesh implants. -
Manchester woman awarded $57 million in vaginal mesh lawsuit
Sep 7, 2017 | York Dispatch
By David Weissman
A 51-year-old Manchester woman was awarded more than $57 million for injuries she suffered from vaginal mesh devices. -
York County woman to receive $57.1M after implants 'eroded'
Sep 7, 2017 | York Daily Record
By Sydney Musser
A York County woman will be receiving $57.1 million in damages after she was left chronically incontinent and in constant pain after faulty pelvic mesh implants eroded into her urethra, according to a report by The Inquirer. -
BREAKING: J&J Slammed With $57M Verdict In Philly Mesh Case
Sep 7, 2017 | Law360
By Matt Fair
A Philadelphia jury on Thursday awarded $57.1 million in damages to a woman who accused a Johnson & Johnson unit of manufacturing a defective pelvic mesh implant that scarred her urethra and left her incontinent. -
Jury Hits J&J With $57.1M Verdict in Pelvic Mesh
Sep 7, 2017 | Legal Intelligencer
By Max Mitchell
A Philadelphia jury has handed up a $57.1 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon after a trial over allegations that its transvaginal mesh product was defective. -
J&J’s Ethicon hit with $57m verdict in pelvic mesh case
Sep 7, 2017 | Mass Device
By Fink Densford
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon has been hit with a $57.1 million verdict in a pelvic mesh case out of Pennsylvania, according to a report from The Inquirer. -
Philadelphia Jury Awards $57.1 Million in Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Verdict
Sep 7, 2017 | National trial Lawyers
By Larry Bodine
A jury in Philadelphia awarded more than $57 million to a woman who was internally scarred and left incontinent by a defective Ethicon pelvic mesh implant made by Johnson & Johnson. The award, the largest so far in several recent mesh injury trials in the state, includes $50 million in punitive damages. -
*Breaking** Sixth Verdict Awards Mesh-Injured Plaintiff $57 Million in Philadelphia Trial
Sep 7, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device News Desk
By Jane Akre
A Philadelphia jury today delivered a $57 million verdict in the case of mesh-injured Ella Ebaugh, deciding that Johnson & Johnson is liable for the Pennsylvania woman’s damaged urethra, the result of two pelvic mesh implants made by the healthcare giant. -
JURY DELIVERS $57.1 MILLION VERDICT VS. J&J IN VAGINAL MESH CASE AWARD FOR PENNSYLVANIA WOMAN IS FIFTH AND LARGEST IN PHILADELPHIA COURT
Sep 7, 2017 | Press Release
By Kline & Specter
A jury today handed down a $57.1 million verdict for a woman resulting from injuries she suffered from a vaginal mesh device designed and marketed by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. The verdict was the fifth and largest multi-million dollar award against J&J in a mesh product trial here.
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J&J unit ordered to pay $57.1M to Pa. woman in pelvic mesh suit
Sep 7, 2017 | Philadelphia Inquirer
By Sam Wood
A Philadelphia jury on Thursday ordered a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson to pay $57.1 million in damages to a Pennsylvania woman who was left chronically incontinent and in constant pain after receiving defective pelvic mesh implants.
Ella Ebaugh, 51, of York County, received two implants of the Ethicon devices, which later eroded into her urethra, said her attorney, Kila Baldwin of Kline & Specter. Surgeons operated three times to remove the devices.
The Common Pleas Court verdict is the fifth, and largest yet, awarded in a pelvic mesh suit, Baldwin said, It included $50 million in punitive damages. In December 2015, an Indiana woman was awarded $12.5 million; in February 2016, a New Jersey woman received a $13.5 million award; in April 2017, a Cinnaminson woman was awarded $20 million; and in June, a Pennsylvania woman received $2.1 million.
A spokeswoman for Ethicon said the company would appeal the verdict.
“We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s TVT and TVT-Secur devices were properly designed, Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the products, and the products were not the cause of the plaintiff’s continuing medical problems,” said Kristen Wallace.
Thousands of women are believed to have been implanted with the devices, said Baldwin, who tried the case with Tracie Palmer and Elia Robertson, also of Kline & Specter.
Evidence introduced during the trial asserted J&J intentionally manipulated the literature regarding problems with the products and withheld information about complications and injuries from doctors, Baldwin said.
“I am pleased the jury recognized the reckless conduct of Johnson & Johnson,” Baldwin said, “and I hope the company takes notice of this verdict and the other verdicts in Philadelphia and amends its practices accordingly so as not to hurt other women.”
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Manchester woman awarded $57 million in vaginal mesh lawsuit
Sep 7, 2017 | York Dispatch
By David Weissman
A 51-year-old Manchester woman was awarded more than $57 million for injuries she suffered from vaginal mesh devices.
The devices, created and marketed by Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc., were implanted into Ella Ebaugh in 2007 to treat her stress urinary incontinence, according to her attorney, Kila Baldwin.
Baldwin said the devices, called TVT and TVT Secur, were effective in treating that minor condition, but years later, the mesh later eroded into Ebaugh's urethra, which required three separate surgeries to remove.
Ebaugh's injuries included extensive scarring to her urethra, intrinsic sphincter deficiency, chronic urinary tract infections, chronic pelvic pain and dyspareunia, or chronic pain during sex, according to the lawsuit, filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
The lawsuit claimed that Johnson and Johnson intentionally manipulated available information regarding issues with the devices and withheld information about issues and injuries from doctors.
The device was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but didn't go through the FDA's Premarket Approval process, Baldwin said.
Under current federal law, companies are immune from lawsuits related to devices that make it through that process.
The verdict, handed down Thursday, Sept. 7, is the fifth successful lawsuit filed in Philadelphia related to these devices, according to Baldwin, and Ebaugh's award is the largest of those five.
The award included $7.1 million in compensatory and $50 million punitive damages. Though Ebaugh has been unable to return to work due to her injuries, Baldwin said they did not seek economic damages.
Prior to her injuries, Ebaugh was a clerical worker at a Friendly's distribution center, Baldwin added.
More than 100 lawsuits against Johnson and Johnson related to its mesh devices are still pending in Philadelphia courts, according to Baldwin.
Ethicon spokeswoman Kristen Wallace wrote in an email that the company plans on appealing the court's verdict.
"We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s TVT and TVT-Secur devices were properly designed, Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the products, and the products were not the cause of the plaintiff’s continuing medical problems," Wallace wrote in a statement.
“We empathize with women suffering from stress urinary incontinence, which can be a serious and debilitating condition," she continued. "There are various treatment choices for women with this condition seeking to improve their quality of life, including surgical treatment with implantable mesh, which is backed by years of clinical research and is considered by most doctors to be the gold standard treatment."
Ebaugh was not immediately available for comment.
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York County woman to receive $57.1M after implants 'eroded'
Sep 7, 2017 | York Daily Record
By Sydney Musser
A York County woman will be receiving $57.1 million in damages after she was left chronically incontinent and in constant pain after faulty pelvic mesh implants eroded into her urethra, according to a report by The Inquirer.
A Philadelphia jury ordered a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson to award Ella Ebaugh, 51, on Thursday, according to the report. Ebaugh received two implants of the Ethicon devices, which later required surgeons to operate on three times to remove the devices.
Thousands of women are believed to have been implanted with the devices, said Ebaugh's attorney, Kila Baldwin of Kline & Specter. The Common Pleas Court verdict is the fifth and largest awarded in a pelvic mesh suit, and included $50 million in punitive damages, she added.
A spokeswoman for Ethicon said that the company would appeal the verdict, the report states.
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BREAKING: J&J Slammed With $57M Verdict In Philly Mesh Case
Sep 7, 2017 | Law360
By Matt Fair
A Philadelphia jury on Thursday awarded $57.1 million in damages to a woman who accused a Johnson & Johnson unit of manufacturing a defective pelvic mesh implant that scarred her urethra and left her incontinent.
The award, which included $50 million in punitive damages, easily eclipses verdicts won by plaintiffs in four prior cases tried in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas as part of a mass tort program over allegedly defective pelvic mesh implants sold by Ethicon Inc.
The jury on Thursday unanimously backed claims from plaintiff Ella Ebaugh that a pair of negligently and defectively designed mesh devices had “mutilated” her urethra and left her with little control over her urinary flow.
Kila Baldwin, an attorney with Kline & Specter PC representing Ebaugh, said she hoped the verdict sent a message to Ethicon.
“Hopefully they recognize that their conduct was reckless,” she told Law360. “I hope this sends a clear message that they did something wrong with these products and that they really think, going forward, about what they do.”
Ebaugh’s case, which kicked off in early August, focused on two Ethicon mesh products — the TVT- Secur, which is no longer on the market, and the company’s “standard” TVT product, which is still being sold.
Ebaugh was implanted with a so-called TVT-Secur mesh device in May 2007 to treat symptoms of stress urinary incontinence and ultimately received a second TVT implant in the summer after her condition did not improve.
After reporting to her doctor three years later that she was having sudden urges to urinate and significant pelvic pain, it was discovered that the mesh had eroded into her urethra.
A series of surgical interventions followed that included one operation in which Baldwin said her client was cut open from “hip to hip” in an effort to remove as much of the mesh as possible.
Despite the operations, Baldwin told jurors during closing arguments on Tuesday that scarring from the mesh implants had essentially propped open her urethra and left her all but incontinent.
Ethicon came into the Ebaugh case with a losing record after four out of five juries in prior trials in Philadelphia County sided with plaintiffs to the tune of nearly $50 million in total damages.
A jury in the fifth case decided in June that, while the TVT-Secur had been defectively designed, it was not the cause of an Ohio woman’s injuries. A judge, however, agreed a month later that the verdict was inconsistent and ordered a new trial on damages.
Until Thursday, the largest verdict the company had faced in a mesh case in Philadelphia had been a $20 million award handed down in April. That award included $17.5 million in punitive damages.
Ethicon spokeswoman Kristen Wallace said in a statement on Thursday that the company "empathized" with individuals suffering from urinary stress incontinence, and stood behind the safety and efficacy of its products.
"We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s TVT and TVT-Secur devices were properly designed, Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the products, and the products were not the cause of the plaintiff’s continuing medical problems," she said.
She added that the company planned to appeal.
Ebaugh is represented by Kila Baldwin of Kline & Specter PC.
Ethicon is represented by W. Curt Webb and Kat Gallagher of Beck Redden LLP.
The case is Ella Ebaugh et al. v. Ethicon Inc. et al., case number 130700866, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. -
Jury Hits J&J With $57.1M Verdict in Pelvic Mesh
Sep 7, 2017 | Legal Intelligencer
By Max Mitchell
A Philadelphia jury has handed up a $57.1 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon after a trial over allegations that its transvaginal mesh product was defective.
The jury award, handed up Thursday in Ebaugh v. Ethicon, was composed of $7.1 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
According to a review of The Legal's archives, the verdict is a record award for the pelvic mesh program in Philadelphia, which has seen several multimillion-dollar verdicts since the first pelvic-mesh-related case was tried in late 2015. The verdict is more than twice the second-largest award out of the program, a $20 million verdict a jury handed up in May.
The case was tried by Kline & Specter attorneys Kila Baldwin, Tracie Palmer and Elia Robertson.
"I am pleased the jury recognized the recklessness of J&J and I hope the company takes notice of the verdict and adjusts its practices accordingly," Baldwin said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Ethicon said the company plans to appeal.
"We believe the evidence showed Ethicon's TVT and TVT-Secur devices were properly designed, Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the products, and the products were not the cause of the plaintiff's continuing medical problems," Kristen Wallace said in an emailed statement.
Kat Gallagher of Beck Redden tried the case for Ethicon.
The trial lasted about a month, and the jury deliberated for more about two days, according to Baldwin.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos presided over the trial.
More than 100 cases are pending in Philadelphia's pelvic mesh mass tort program. J&J, however, has recently stepped up efforts to have those cases removed from Philadelphia based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from June that some have described as "game-changing" for mass tort programs.
That Supreme Court's decision, which came in the case Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California, made clear that out-of-state plaintiffs can't sue companies in states where the defendants aren't considered to be "at home," or haven't conducted business directly linked to the claimed injury.
That ruling is not likely to factor into Ebaugh, as plaintiff Ella Ebaugh is a Pennsylvania resident, according to court papers.
According to Ebaugh's pretrial memo, she is in her 50s and was diagnosed with urinary incontinence in 2005. In 2007, she had TVT-Secur mesh installed, but, after she reported that it did not provide any relief, a second device was implanted about two months later. According to the memo, over the following few years, that device eroded through her urethra on three occasions, requiring three revision surgeries between 2011 and 2016.
Ebaugh contended that the company failed to tell patients and physicians about the risks associated with the products, and withheld information about the complications from the medical community.
Baldwin told The Legal on Thursday afternoon that she thought J&J's internal emails were particularly persuasive to jury members.
"It showed there were many attempts to manipulate the literature ... and they continued to sell them knowing this information," she said. "They made the case almost indefensible."
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J&J’s Ethicon hit with $57m verdict in pelvic mesh case
Sep 7, 2017 | Mass Device
By Fink Densford
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon has been hit with a $57.1 million verdict in a pelvic mesh case out of Pennsylvania, according to a report from The Inquirer.
A jury in Philadelphia ordered the subsidiary to pay the damages to a woman who was left chronically incontinent and with chronic pain after being implanted with a defective pelvic mesh implant, according to the report.
The plaintiff, Ella Ebaugh, received 2 Ethicon mesh implants which later eroded into her urethra, according to The Inquirer, and required 3 surgeries to remove the meshes.
The damages awarded are greater than those won by plaintiffs in 4 previously tried cases in Philadelphia as part of a mass tort program for trials related to the implants.
Previous victories included a $12.5 million award in December 2015, a $13.5 million award last February, a $20 million award this April and another $2.1 million to a Pennsylvania woman in June, according to the paper.
Ethicon told The Inquirer that it plans to appeal the verdict.
“We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s TVT and TVT-Secur devices were properly designed, Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the products, and the products were not the cause of the plaintiff’s continuing medical problems,” Ethicon spokesperson Kristen Wallace told The Inquirer.
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Philadelphia Jury Awards $57.1 Million in Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Verdict
Sep 7, 2017 | National trial Lawyers
By Larry Bodine
A jury in Philadelphia awarded more than $57 million to a woman who was internally scarred and left incontinent by a defective Ethicon pelvic mesh implant made by Johnson & Johnson. The award, the largest so far in several recent mesh injury trials in the state, includes $50 million in punitive damages.
The jury found in favor of plaintiff Ella Ebaugh, determining that two of Ethicon’s mesh devices had caused internal mutilations permanently impairing her urinary system. The case is In Re: Pelvic Mesh Litigation, Case No. 140200829.
Attorneys in the case said the verdict sends a message to J&J and Ethicon about the impropriety of their conduct surrounding the design and marketing of the dangerous surgical mesh devices. Of the two mesh devices that were the subject of the lawsuit, one has been recalled but the other, Ethicon’s TVT product, remains on the market even as substantial numbers of mesh injury lawsuits continue to move through the courts.
29,905 federal lawsuits
In separate litigation, Ethicon faces 29,905 federal lawsuits consolidated before US District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in MDL 2327, IN RE: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation.
The previous highest-result mesh injury case from the series ongoing in Pennsylvania was $20 million. Ethicon has stated it intends to appeal the jury’s decision in Ms. Ebaugh’s case.
The previous highest-result mesh injury case from the series ongoing in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was $20 million. Some 130 pelvic mesh lawsuits are pending there in a mass tort program. Ethicon has stated it intends to appeal the jury’s decision in Ms. Ebaugh’s case.
Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson have prevailed in a single Pennsylvania pelvic mesh trial. Four Philadelphia juries have awarded Ethicon plaintiffs $12.5 million, $13.6 million, 17.5 million, and $20 million in damages.
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*Breaking** Sixth Verdict Awards Mesh-Injured Plaintiff $57 Million in Philadelphia Trial
Sep 7, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device News Desk
By Jane Akre
A Philadelphia jury today delivered a $57 million verdict in the case of mesh-injured Ella Ebaugh, deciding that Johnson & Johnson is liable for the Pennsylvania woman’s damaged urethra, the result of two pelvic mesh implants made by the healthcare giant.
The case no 130700866, began July 31 before a dozen jurors, all African-American, half men, half women and all middle aged.
In her closing Tuesday Kline Specter attorney Kila Baldwin told the jurors to send a strong message to J&J by granting large punitive damages to plaintiff Ella Ebaugh. This jury award includes $50 million in punitive damages and $7 million in compensatory damages.
A J&J spokeswoman said the company will appeal the verdict.
The Inquirer reports on a J&J statement:
“We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s TVT and TVT-Secur devices were properly designed, Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the products, and the products were not the cause of the plaintiff’s continuing medical problems,” said Kristen Wallace.Ebaugh, 51 claimed she suffered permanent, life-altering damage from two mesh implants made by J&J and its Ethicon division – the TVT (Tension-free tape) and TVT-SECUR mesh, used to treat incontinence. Her urethra was “mangled” from the TVT-SECUR, which eroded into her urethra.
This is the sixth trial against J&J and its pelvic mesh products to be held in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. All five previous product liability trials had found the pelvic meshes made were defective in their design.
Philly.com reports:
“I am pleased the jury recognized the reckless conduct of Johnson & Johnson,” Baldwin said, “and I hope the company takes notice of this verdict and the other verdicts in Philadelphia and amends its practices accordingly so as not to hurt other women.”All but one delivered compensatory damages to the plaintiff and punitive damages to all but one case.
The total awards to mesh-injured women now totals $105 million against Johnson & Johnson.
There are more than 100 other product liability trials waiting to be heard in this Philadelphia court. Additionally there are 104,000 product liability trials naming seven mesh makers waiting for trial consolidated in federal court in West Virginia.
According to the recent J&J SEC report, the mesh manufacturer has 55,000 pending defective product cases filed against it, more than any other maker.
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Sep 7, 2017 | Press Release
By Kline & Specter
A jury today handed down a $57.1 million verdict for a woman resulting from injuries she suffered from a vaginal mesh device designed and marketed by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. The verdict was the fifth and largest multi-million dollar award against J&J in a mesh product trial here.
In the verdict -- $7.1 million in compensatory and $50 million in punitive damages -- for Ella Ebaugh, 51 , of Manchester, Pa. In May and July of 2007, respectively, Ella Ebaugh had two mesh devices implanted for the treatment of her stress urinary incontinence. The devices seemingly worked, until years later the mesh eroded into her urethra, necessitating three mesh removal surgeries.
As a result of the defective design of the devices, Ebaugh suffered various injuries, including extensive scarring to her urethra, intrinsic sphincter deficiency, chronic urinary tract infections, chronic pelvic pain, and dyspareunia, or chronic pain during sex.
Her lawsuit, filed by attorneys at Kline & Specter, PC, claimed the medical device was defective and had a 15-20% percent rate of erosion. Evidence introduced during the trial proved that J&J intentionally manipulated the literature regarding problems with the products and withheld information about complications and injuries from doctors.
“I am pleased the jury recognized the recklessness of J&J and I hope the company takes notice of the verdict and adjusts its practices accordingly,” said plaintiff attorney Kila Baldwin, who tried the case with Tracie Palmer and Elia Robertson, also of Kline & Specter.
Kline & Specter attorneys have participated in all five successful Philadelphia verdicts involving vaginal mesh against J&J. Previous verdicts were for $12.5 million for an Indiana woman, $2.16 million for a Pennsylvania resident, and $13.5 million and $20 million, both for New Jersey residents.
There are more than 100 lawsuits pending in Philadelphia against J&J over its pelvic mesh products.
For further information contact Kila Baldwin via email (best) at kila.baldwin@klinespecter.com or text or call at 215-313-9858
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