By: Thamanna Hussain
An Atlantic City jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay punitive damages of $7.76 million to a former nurse who blames its Prolift vaginal mesh implant for years of pain and suffering following unsuccessful repair surgeries with a transvaginal mesh device sold by J&J's Ethicon unit. The plaintiff, Linda Gross, testified she had 18 surgeries since having J&J's Prolift vaginal mesh device implanted in 2006.
The award adds to $3.35 million in compensatory damages awarded by the state Superior Court jury, making a total of $11.1 million. Thousands of women were recipients of transvaginal mesh devices, which have caused many recipients of these devices to experience complications related to their defects. The implants are an alternative to other surgery to repair pelvic organ prolapse, which occurs when an organ droops as muscles supporting it weaken. Transvaginal mesh devices prose more risks than benefits as they have been associated with very serious reactions.
Our firm has filed mesh cases before Judge Higbee in Atlantic County, including Prolift cases. The jury in Atlantic City awarded the punitive damages after five days of deliberations. J&J responded to the damages, by stating that the evidence doesn't support the verdict, but jurors found the company did not warn surgeons sufficiently about risks.
