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Ethicon Media Monitoring 5/20/2019
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J&J Hit With $80M Verdict In Philly Mesh Case
May 17, 2019 | Law 360
By Matt Fair
A Philadelphia jury returned $80 million in damages against a Johnson & Johnson unit on Friday in the latest trial over chronic pain and other complications caused by its pelvic mesh implants. -
Pelvic Mesh Plaintiff Secures $80M Verdict From Phila. Jury Against J&J Subsidiary
May 17, 2019 | Law.com
By Max Mitchell
A Philadelphia jury has awarded more than $80 million to a woman who claimed a pelvic mesh device developed by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary eroded and caused injury. -
Philadelphia jury orders J&J to pay $80 million to Media woman injured by vaginal mesh
May 18, 2019 | Philly.com
By Sam Wood
A subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson must pay $80 million to a suburban Philadelphia woman who was injured by vaginal mesh implant to treat pelvic organ prolapse. The verdict included $50 million in punitive damages. -
J&J must pay $80 million in latest trial over mesh implants
May 18, 2019 | Reuters
By Nate Raymond and Brendan Pierson
A state court jury in Philadelphia on Friday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $80 million to a woman who said she was severely injured by a negligently designed pelvic mesh implant made by the company’s Ethicon unit. -
King’s and Guy’s Say Vaginal Mesh No Longer Used for Women Suffering Incontinence – and Confirm They Still Operate Removal Service
May 18, 2019 | Southwark News
By Katherine Johnston
Vaginal mesh is no longer used at King’s and Guy’s for prolapse and incontinence, the trusts have confirmed, as campaigners push for a full ban on the procedure. -
Campaigners take pelvis mesh battle to London
May 17, 2019 | Harwich and Manningtree Standard
By Rebecca Jones
A force of campaigners took to the streets of London, despite many being in chronic pain, in bid to ban pelvic mesh implants. -
Video: Controversial surgery - doctor tells of her experience with mesh, and no longer recommends it
May 17, 2019 | Health 24
A urogynaecologist tells that doctors were stipulated to use mesh surgery, to maintain their accreditation, but she no longer recommends it.
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J&J Hit With $80M Verdict In Philly Mesh Case
May 17, 2019 | Law 360
By Matt Fair
A Philadelphia jury returned $80 million in damages against a Johnson & Johnson unit on Friday in the latest trial over chronic pain and other complications caused by its pelvic mesh implants.
The verdict, which included $50 million in punitive damages, is the eighth to go in favor of plaintiffs out of 10 total mesh-related cases that have made it to trial in Philadelphia, and brings the total amount of damages awarded against J&J unit Ethicon Inc. to nearly $350 million.
The verdict returned on Friday stemmed from claims lodged by Philadelphia-area resident Patricia "Jill" Mesigian, 75, over a Prolift implant she received in September 2008 to treat pelvic organ prolapse, a condition in which pelvic organs begin to sag against the vagina.
During a follow-up visit just months after receiving the implant, however, court records say that doctors discovered Mesigian was experiencing vaginal bleeding, and recommended she undergo a second surgery during which they found that a portion of the mesh had sawed into her vagina.
Four years after having the exposed piece of mesh removed, court records say Mesigian again began experiencing vaginal bleeding and discomfort during sex.
A subsequent examination found that the mesh had become exposed in her vagina in two places, requiring a third surgery to remove.
She went on to undergo three more surgeries between 2013 and 2017 to address additional mesh erosions she was experiencing, and two treatments in which she was chemically burned in an attempt to remove scar tissue that had built up around the mesh.
Thomas Kline, an attorney with Kline & Specter PC representing Mesigian, told jurors during closing arguments on Thursday that the mesh continued to cause his client severe pain, and had all but ended her sex life with her husband.
"The last time that Jill tried to have sex with that man who she loves was six months ago, and it felt like her vagina was being ripped in barbed wire, and that she was being torn apart," Kline said, according to a transcript.
Mesigian argued that the tight weave of the mesh in the device caused tissue to grow around the implant, rather than growing through it and integrating with it, and thus encapsulated it in scar plating.
The Prolift device was eventually taken off the market in 2012.
A trial in Mesigian's case kicked off in mid-April, and jurors began deliberating on Thursday afternoon.
Kline praised the verdict in an interview with Law360 after the jury was dismissed.
“Once again, a jury resoundingly found that the Prolift device, among many defective Johnson & Johnson transvaginal mesh devices, badly injured a woman, and that the conduct was such that punitive damages were warranted," he said.
Ethicon has argued that Mesigian waited too long to bring her February 2014 lawsuit, given that she began experiencing complications just a handful of months after receiving the implant.
They also argued that her mesh erosions, a known complication with the implant, were caused by vaginal atrophy, a condition in which vaginal tissue thins and dries with age, that she began experiencing in 2008.
The company also looked to pin the blame on a condition Mesigian suffers, lichen sclerosus, characterized by thinner-than-usual skin in the genital area.
"The evidence in this case is that Mrs. Mesigian's ... erosions and the related symptoms were not caused by a defect of the Prolift," Beck Redden LLP attorney Kathleen Gallagher told jurors during closing arguments on behalf of Ethicon.
But the jury ultimately found that the risks of the product outweighed its benefits, and that Ethicon failed to warn consumers about the true extent of potential complications
Two jurors noted their disagreement with the verdict as the panel was polled by the court.
Ethicon said in a statement on Friday afternoon that it disagreed with the jury's finding.
"While Ethicon empathizes with women who experience medical complications, this verdict and the damages awarded are inconsistent with the science and Ethicon’s actions," the company said. "We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s Prolift device was properly designed and that Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the product."
Mesigian is represented by Thomas Kline, Kila Baldwin, Michael Trunk and Lee Balefsky of Kline & Specter PC.
Ethicon is represented by Kathleen Gallagher of Beck Redden LLP, Rebecca Bacon of Bartlit Beck LLP, Julie Callsen, Erica James and Sherry Knutson of Tucker Ellis LLP, Anita Modak-Truran, Adam Porter and Nils Burton Snell of Butler Snow LLP, John Hare of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin PC, Larry Ottaway and Amy Sherry Fischer of Foliart Huff Ottaway & Bottom, and Andrew Reeve, Melissa Merk, D. Alicia Hickok and Kenneth Murphy of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.
The case is Patricia Mesigian et al. v. Ethicon Inc. et al., case number 140200399, before the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
https://www.law360.com/articles/1161027/j-j-hit-with-80m-verdict-in-philly-mesh-case
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Pelvic Mesh Plaintiff Secures $80M Verdict From Phila. Jury Against J&J Subsidiary
May 17, 2019 | Law.com
By Max Mitchell
A Philadelphia jury has awarded more than $80 million to a woman who claimed a pelvic mesh device developed by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary eroded and caused injury.
The verdict, which came down Friday afternoon in front of Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Daniel Anders, totaled $80.025 million for plaintiffs Patricia and George Mesigian of Media, Pennsylvania. The award also included $50 million in punitive damages, and came down a little more than a month after another Philadelphia jury slammed the same J&J subsidiary, Ethicon, with a $120 million verdict.
Patricia Mesigian’s trial team was led by Kline & Specter attorneys Thomas R. Kline, Kila Baldwin and Michael Trunk.
In a statement released after the verdict, Kline said the company had put profits before patient safety.
“In this largest transvaginal compensatory jury verdict to date, this jury resoundingly found that Johnson & Johnson terribly injured another one of thousands of women implanted with its defective transvaginal mesh device, recognizing not only the severity of the injury but the abhorrence of the conduct,” Kline said.
A statement from Ethicon spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley said that the verdict and award are “inconsistent with the science and Ethicon’s actions.”
“We believe the evidence showed Ethicon’s Prolift device was properly designed and that Ethicon acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development and marketing of the product,” Tinsley said. “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.”
According to the plaintiffs’ counsel, Mesigian, now 75, had the mesh implanted in 2008 to treat organ prolapse, but the product eroded, leaving her with significant pain, infections, inflammation and scar tissue that caused pain during sex and required several revision surgeries.
Mesigian, along with more than 80 plaintiffs with cases currently pending in Philadelphia’s Complex Litigation Center, alleged that J&J subsidiary Ethicon failed to adequately warn about the erosion rate of the device, and instead misled the medical community about the product’s safety.
The verdict marks the eighth time a Philadelphia jury has awarded a woman significant compensatory and punitive damage awards over pelvic mesh products. According to a statement from Kline & Specter, the awards now total $346 million.
Ethicon has won two defense verdicts in the litigation, with the latest coming in mid-April. The first defense win, however, was later reversed by the trial court, after the judge who oversaw the case determined that the jury’s findings were inconsistent on the issue of whether the alleged design defect caused the injuries. The judge ultimately determined that the case should proceed to a damages hearing, but that decision is currently on appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Defense counsel included Katherine Gallagher of Beck Redden, Rebecca Bacon of Bartlit Beck, John Hare of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin and Alicia Hickok of Drinker Biddle & Reath.
https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2019/05/17/pelvic-mesh-plaintiff-secures-80m-verdict-from-phila-jury-against-jj-subsidiary/
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Philadelphia jury orders J&J to pay $80 million to Media woman injured by vaginal mesh
May 18, 2019 | Philly.com
By Sam Wood
A subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson must pay $80 million to a suburban Philadelphia woman who was injured by vaginal mesh implant to treat pelvic organ prolapse. The verdict included $50 million in punitive damages.
Patricia Mesigian, 75, had Ethicon’s Prolift mesh implanted in 2008. The mesh eroded and caused her pelvic pain, infection, inflammation, and scar tissue, according to the suit. A series of follow-up surgeries failed to help. A Philadelphia jury deliberated for two days before finding the Prolift device was defective and that Johnson & Johnson failed to provide adequate warning of its risks.
“In this largest transvaginal compensatory jury verdict to date, this jury resoundingly found that Johnson & Johnson terribly injured another one of thousands of women implanted with its defective transvaginal mesh device, recognizing not only the severity of the injury but the abhorrence of the conduct,” Thomas R. Kline, trial attorney for Mesigian, said in an emailed statement Saturday.
The suit is the second against J&J’s Ethicon in less than a month to result in a massive damage award to a mesh plaintiff. In April, a jury in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas awarded a record $120 million to an Altoona woman who had mesh implanted to treat incontinence. The company said it would appeal the verdicts.
“While Ethicon empathizes with women who experience medical complications, this verdict and the damages awarded are inconsistent with the science and Ethicon’s actions,” said the company’s spokeswoman, Mindy Tinsley. “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.”
“Pelvic mesh” has become one of the biggest mass torts in U.S. history. Medical device makers are paying nearly $8 billion to settle the claims of more than 100,000 women who suffered complications.
https://www.philly.com/business/pelvic-mesh-verdict-80-million-johnson-and-johnson-media-woman-20190517.html
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J&J must pay $80 million in latest trial over mesh implants
May 18, 2019 | Reuters
By Nate Raymond and Brendan Pierson
A state court jury in Philadelphia on Friday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $80 million to a woman who said she was severely injured by a negligently designed pelvic mesh implant made by the company’s Ethicon unit.
The verdict by a jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was the latest to result from thousands of lawsuits by women alleging J&J’s pelvic mesh devices have caused them severe pain, urinary problems and other injuries.
https://www.reuters.com/article/productliability-johnsonjohnson/jj-must-pay-80-million-in-latest-trial-over-mesh-implants-idUSL2N22T1OW
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May 18, 2019 | Southwark News
By Katherine Johnston
Vaginal mesh is no longer used at King’s and Guy’s for prolapse and incontinence, the trusts have confirmed, as campaigners push for a full ban on the procedure.
Used to treat incontinence or prolapse – often caused by childbirth -vaginal mesh implants have been shown to be responsible for a series of cases where women were left with extreme, chronic pain.
After the sheer number of women affected and the severity of their symptoms came to light, a ban on the products was put in place last year.
But last month, new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines were published, advising mesh is only used after all non-surgical options have been exhausted, and to women who understand the risks.
Critics say the new wording does not go far enough – and could mean more women have mesh surgery in future with its risks of pain and other complications.
A campaign group with more than 7,000 members, called Sling the Mesh, says its representatives have written to every NHS trust warning them that hospitals continue to use mesh could face legal action.
The group hoped the guidelines would take a much stronger stance and put a permanent stop on the procedure. It has also called on the government to set up a register of every woman operated on in the last 20 years.
In response to a request by the News, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust confirmed: “We do not use synthetic mesh for prolapse or incontinence. We do provide a service for removing vaginal mesh when it is necessary to do so.”
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust replied along similar lines, explaining: “We currently do not use vaginal mesh for either incontinence or prolapse, however, we are able to offer alternative surgical solutions. We do offer a mesh removing service where appropriate.”
Although both Southwark’s hospitals continue to provide mesh removal, last Thursday Sling the Mesh staged a demonstration outside University College Hospital in protest of the trust’s announcement it was suspending its mesh removal service.
June Faircloth, who coordinated the rally in London said there could be many more cases as women like her, who had the procedure in private hospitals, will not show up in public statistics.
“Every day on the support page new members join who’ve been suffering for months or years but are told by medics they are a mystery, problems are blamed on other health issues or women are sent to psychiatrists,” she said.
“These women have mesh implant-related illnesses like severe pain, UTIs, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, leg tremors, loss of sex life.
“It is only when women see the story in the media that they have a penny drop moment.
“I had my operation privately so even in a 20 year audit my story won’t be counted and I am an unknown statistic.”
https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/kings-and-guys-say-vaginal-mesh-no-longer-used-for-women-suffering-incontinence-and-confirm-they-still-operate-removal-service/
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Campaigners take pelvis mesh battle to London
May 17, 2019 | Harwich and Manningtree Standard
By Rebecca Jones
A force of campaigners took to the streets of London, despite many being in chronic pain, in bid to ban pelvic mesh implants.
Corinda Daw, from Little Oakley, headed to the capital last Thursday *MAY 9**to protest with hundreds of campaigners from the Sling The Mesh group.
The mum-of-two rallied outside University College London Hospital in an effort to ban mesh used for pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence after childbirth, as well as restart removal operations which have been suspended.
Corinda said: "The rally had a great atmosphere, tinged with sadness talking to those in so much pain with mesh, but there was also a great feeling of coming together and feeling strong.
"It was a very sisterly and supportive feeling.
"Lots of people going in and out of the hospital were asking what we were doing and showed their support.
"Hopefully we have highlighted and promoted the problems to a wider audience."
Corinda had a trans-vaginal tape operation six years ago after suffering mild incontinence since the birth of her son.
Due to being in chronic pain from the mesh implant, Corinda had to quit her job in Clacton's Next last year.
The 52-year-old has been on a waiting list to have her mesh removed for eight months, but the surgery has now been suspended at University College London Hospital.
She said a banner was made for the rally with 300 names on it of mesh implant sufferers who wanted to attend the protest, but were too disabled by the mesh to get there.
She added: "I had several ladies passing by at the rally stopping to chat to people who have had mesh surgery and were having problems, so the rally has helped them to get some support and understanding.
"One passer-by in particular said she keeps getting fobbed off by doctors who deny that mesh causes a problem, this is sadly a story told over and over again by many mesh suffers.
"The rally trended on Twitter and made a big impact both in Manchester and London."
The rally was also held in Manchester on the same day.
https://www.harwichandmanningtreestandard.co.uk/news/17644984.campaigners-take-pelvis-mesh-battle-to-london/
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Video: Controversial surgery - doctor tells of her experience with mesh, and no longer recommends it
May 17, 2019 | Health 24
A urogynaecologist tells that doctors were stipulated to use mesh surgery, to maintain their accreditation, but she no longer recommends it.
Vaginal mesh implants are used to treat female patients suffering from stress incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. These conditions are especially common in women as a result of pregnancy and childbirth.
The vaginal mesh is a net-like material made up of either polypropylene, animal tissue or a combination of both. The mesh is inserted via the abdomen or the vagina. A transvaginal insertion of the mesh is viewed by urogynaecologist as less invasive than a transabdominal insertion.Over the last few years, thousands of women who have undergone the procedure have reported complications regarding the mesh.
These complications include burning sensations in the pelvic area and debilitating pain. In some cases, this pain has prevented some patients from returning to work, in others it has made a simple task like walking a considerable struggle.
The material of the mesh also places females at risk of organ perforation.
https://www.health24.com/Medical/Incontinence/Incontinence-in-women/watch-controversial-surgery-doctor-tells-of-her-experience-with-mesh-and-no-longer-recommends-it-20190517-2
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