Johnson & Johnson faces thousands of surgical mesh lawsuit claims from women allegedly suffering device injuries and complications. J&J’s Ethicon stopped selling Gynecare mesh products in 2012. The voluntary market withdrawal came after numerous reports of intense pelvic pain and discomfort as well as several deaths, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Thousands of Surgical Mesh Lawsuit Claims Now Pending
The action, which the company specifically said was not a recall, happened four years after the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about mesh implant dangers. In 2008, the FDA stated that women may experience mesh implant complications. In 2011, the FDA issued a more serious warning. At the time, thousands of women reported adverse events from transvaginal mesh devices. That year, the agency strongly advised patients to seek other treatment options.
J&J still backed its surgical mesh implants, despite FDA warnings. When the company pulled Gynecare products off U.S. shelves, it stated all implants would likely be removed at the beginning of 2013. “This is not a product recall and we continue to have confidence in the safety and efficacy of these products,” the company said in a 2012 statement. “Our decision to discontinue these products is based on their commercial viability in light of changing market dynamics, and is not related to safety or efficacy.”
Surgical Mesh Lawsuits against J&J and Other Mesh Manufacturers
J&J now faces thousands of surgical mesh lawsuit claims from women suffering complications and device injuries. In 2012, one J&J pelvic mesh lawsuit produced one of the year’s largest monetary settlements in New Jersey. The jury in a J&J Gynecare mesh medical malpractice lawsuit in Atlantic County Superior Court awarded the plaintiff $11 million. The payout included $7.76 million in punitive damages. The award placed third on the top 10 court settlements list in the state of New Jersey.
Other TVM manufacturers are also facing surgical mesh lawsuit claims. These companies include Boston Scientific Corp., C.R. Bard and Endo Pharmaceuticals. These companies have also defended their products, despite the reports of adverse events from patients using their mesh implants. Endo and Boston Scientific, for example, continued to work with the FDA and educate physicians on use of their mesh products after the federal agency warned of the mesh dangers, the WSJ reported last year.
Endo spokesman Blaine Davis said the company believes their mesh implants are still safe and effective.
What You Can Do
Surgical mesh implants often treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). However, the FDA’s increasingly concerned with the continued complications reported by POP patients. The FDA also said no evidence proved that mesh implants were more effective for treating POP and SUI than traditional, non-surgical methods.
If you were injured by a mesh implant device, you may be eligible to file a surgical mesh lawsuit. Get your free surgical mesh lawsuit claim review today to see if you may qualify for financial compensation.
Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.