Over
the last two weeks, two strikingly different results have occurred involving
transvaginal mesh trials.
A
jury in a West Virginia federal court slammed Johnson & Johnson subsidiary
Ethicon Inc., with a $3.27 million
verdict last Friday in a bellwether trial. The jury found Ethicon's
transvaginal sling was defectively designed and the company failed to warn of
its potential risks.
It was reported that the jury returned the compensatory damages verdict after deliberating for just three hours and found for the plaintiff on all counts. The trial lasted two weeks.
It was reported that the jury returned the compensatory damages verdict after deliberating for just three hours and found for the plaintiff on all counts. The trial lasted two weeks.
Johnson
and Johnson faces nearly 33,000 similar lawsuits.
On
August 29, the previous Friday, a Massachusetts jury sided with Boston
Scientific Corp., in the second bellwether trial involving the company’s pelvic
mesh devices. The jury found that a transvaginal sling was not defectively
designed and the company adequately warned of risks associated with the device.
That trial lasted two weeks and the jury deliberated for over two days. This
trial was heard in state court.
These
bellwether trials illustrate the multitude of different outcomes in
transvaginal mesh litigation on both the state and federal level. On one hand,
we have seen summary judgment granted for the defendants, while on the other we
have seen near Billion dollar settlements (see my previous blog posts regarding
such). The MDL system and bellwether trials are designed to help both sides of
the aisle evaluate their positions reasonably. These latest bellwether trials will
probably do little to help either side assess their positions and instead push them to keep trying cases.
