The punitive damages on February 28, 2013 reportedly sits on top of the $3.35 compensatory damages that was awarded by the nine-man jury to Linda Gross three days earlier. The awards, which total to $11.1 million, was reportedly based on a finding that Ethicon failed to adequately warn her doctors of potential dangers and fraudulently misrepresenting the product’s potential risks.  A spokeswoman for the diversified healthcare company, however, expressed that Ethicon would appeal the punitive damages, including the compensatory award. “The punitive damage award is unsupported by the evidence presented at trial,” Sheri Woodruff cited in a e-mail statement. “Ethicon acted appropriately in the research, development and marketing of the Prolift.”

Gross, a 47-year old woman South Dakota native, reportedly claimed of constant pain, for which she had to go through 18 additional surgical procedures, following implantation of Johnson & Johnson’s now-recalled Gynecare Prolift bladder sling implant in 2006 to shore up her falling pelvic organs.

In the trials, it has also been revealed that J&J purportedly placed the implant on the market for sale without going through the US Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) premarket notification process, according to online media reports. There are reportedly about 1,800 bladder sling cases pending against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson in the New Jersey court alone.

Vaginal mesh, also called bladder slings, have been surrounded with mounting safety issues over the years, prompting a large number of women to forward with a legal action, and eliciting consumer advocates to call a possible an all-out bladder repair sling product recall, online media reports. Visit the Bladder Sling Recall Center at bladderslingrecall.us for more information about the potential dangers of bladder sling implants.  See bladderslingrecall.us if you wish to know more about the potential hazards surgical mesh have been reported to cause.

Sources:

reuters.com/article/2013/02/28/us-johhnsonandjohnson-award-mesh-idUSBRE91R14P20130228

bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/j-j-failed-to-warn-of-vaginal-mesh-risks-n-j-jury-rules-1-.html

Linda Gross Awarded $7.76M Punitive Damages Pelvic Sling Case Vs. J&J is a post from: WiredWriter