A U.S. jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $7.76 million in punitive damages to a former nurse who said she endured years of suffering after having a transvaginal mesh inserted in 2006.
Johnson & Johnson, whose division Ethicon makes the Prolift transvaginal mesh, was earlier ordered to pay Linda Gross $3.35 million in compensatory damages, making her award a total of $11.1 million.
It’s the first ruling among more than 2,100 lawsuits filed over this particular device. There are thousands of other lawsuits pending in the U.S. over a variety of surgical mesh implants made by different companies.
Gross, 47, a former nurse in South Dakota, testified that she has suffered from severe pain and other complications after having the mesh inserted. She said she underwent 18 revision surgeries without success and had to leave her job.
Adam Slater, Gross’ lead lawyer, said the award is a “shot across the bow to mesh makers to start taking care of the women.”
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said it will “vigorously pursue an appeal.”
Ethicon sold the Prolift mesh implants from 2005 until 2012, when it pulled them from the market as lawsuits piled up.
Canadian patients who say they were also harmed by transvaginal mesh are celebrating Gross’s legal victory.
“I think it is absolutely so exciting. It is beyond words. She deserves this,” said Diane Fichter from British Columbia, who described severe pain from her mesh implant that has left her homebound.
“I definitely hope this will set a precedent for all of us that are in litigation,” she said.
Transvaginal mesh has been used to treat women with bladder problems and to secure organs in the abdomen. But thousands of women have come forward with stories of intense pain and recurrent infections since getting the implants, which are difficult to remove.
“It’s just a nightmare what these women have suffered,” said Matthew Baer, a lawyer with Siskinds law firm in London, Ont.
Baer said the large sum awarded to Gross in punitive damages is significant.
“A big award like that is very telling. The jury sent a powerful message to the makers of mesh that the practices are unacceptable and the victims should be compensated,” he said.
About 1,000 women in Canada have either filed lawsuits or contacted lawyers because of problems associated with transvaginal mesh implants.
With a report from CTV’s medical specialist Avis Favaro and files from The Associated Press
