The third bellwether trial involving transvaginal mesh products made by Ethicon has been delayed and will not begin until March 2, 2015. The trial was scheduled to begin Dec. 2; U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin did not provide a reason for the delay.
Judge Goodwin is currently overseeing more than 65,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits that have been filed on behalf of women who claim complications with transvaginal mesh devices made by a number of manufacturers have resulted in severe, sometimes permanent injuries.
Judge Goodwin is overseeing multidistrict litigation for several makers of the devices. Other companies on trial include Boston Scientific, American Medical Systems, Coloplast, Bard Avaulta, Cook Medical and Neomedic. Multidistrict litigation helps streamline lawsuits with similar allegations; thus, the outcomes in the bellwether trials are very important.
The first two bellwether trials against Ethicon have already been decided. In the first trial, the jury ruled in favor of Ethicon claiming that the plaintiff failed to provide clear evidence that the vaginal sling was defective, but in the second trial the jury found the defendant guilty, awarding the plaintiff $3.27 million.
Plaintiffs in transvaginal mesh lawsuits allege a number of debilitating injuries, including chronic pain, urinary problems, bleeding, vaginla scarring, organ perforation, vaginal shrinkage and emotional problems.
For more information about transvaginal mesh litigation or to speak with a products’ liability lawyer about a possible case, please contact the national product liability lawyers of the Flood Law Group LLP.
