Of $2M, $1.75M in Punitive Damages
A U.S. District Judge recently upheld a $2 million transvaginal mesh lawsuit award. In August, a jury in West Virginia awarded the settlement to Donna Cisson following two weeks of trial. Cisson filed a lawsuit against C.R. Bard, a maker of transvaginal mesh implants, because the device caused her to suffer serious, life-threatening injuries. Cisson also said C.R. Bard failed to properly warn consumers of the dangers of their product.
Cisson’s case was the first to go to trial against C.R. Bard, which is based in Murray Hill, NJ.
The $2 million award breaks down to $1.75 million in punitive damages and $250,000 for compensatory damages. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin ruled in October that the award was warranted, and Cisson proved the C.R. Bard transvaginal mesh implant did not function properly. Goodwin is currently overseeing a consolidation of thousands of lawsuits filed in West Virginia’s federal court against transvaginal mesh manufacturers.
Additional Lawsuits Still Pending
Other transvaginal mesh makers facing lawsuits include American Medical Systems, Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., Cook Medical Inc., Ethicon, Inc. as well as Endo Health Solutions Inc.
About 30,000 transvaginal mesh lawsuits are now being consolidated. C.R. Bard, Endo Health Solutions, Boston Scientific Corp. and other companies are in talks to settle a portion of those lawsuits, Bloomberg reported. Bard and Boston Scientific have each had more than 12,000 cases filed against it regarding the transvaginal mesh implant, the source said.
Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Award Settlement Talks
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs named in the lawsuits are asking Goodwin to appoint a settlement committee to handle the possible deals. In September, Goodwin acknowledged talks were going on “behind the scenes” for settlement protocols, Bloomberg reported. Transvaginal mesh lawsuit award settlements may be the best course of action, Carl Tobias, who teaches product-liability law at the University of Richmond in Virginia, told the source.
“The liability seems pretty clear on these cases, so settlement makes sense,” said Tobias. “Given how serious the injuries are and the number of cases, when you do the math, you can easily come up with a multibillion-dollar settlement.” Some companies have already settled a number of lawsuits. Endo, for example, paid $54.5 million to settle an unspecified number of cases against the company, Bloomberg reported. Denmark-based Coloplast, another transvaginal mesh maker, is in talks to settle more than 600 cases it is facing due to consumer complaints and complications. Coloplast said it is trying to settle all cases before the end of 2013.
There are still more transvaginal mesh lawsuits continuing today. If you were injured after having one of these products inserted, you may qualify for a transvaginal mesh lawsuit. The process is easy, and you get the compensation you deserve. See if you pre-qualify for a consultation with an attorney or advocate in your area.