U.S. Supreme Court Turns Back Appeal of $3.27 Million Ethicon Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Verdict, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports

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Oct 04, 2017, 12:25 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear Johnson & Johnson's appeal of a $3.27 million verdict awarded in a transvaginal mesh lawsuit involving its Ethicon, Inc. subsidiary's TVT-O pelvic mesh device. The case was decided in September 2014, and was the second bellwether trial convened in the Ethicon vaginal mesh litigation currently underway in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia. (Huskey et al. v. Ethicon Inc. et al., case number 15-2118)

"Our Firm is representing multiple women who suffered serious complications allegedly related to the TVT-O device and other Ethicon pelvic mesh products. The Supreme Court's refusal to hear this appeal means that the verdict will stand, and could bode well for other plaintiffs pursuing similar claims," says Sandy A. Liebhard, a partner at Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm continues to investigate legal claims on behalf of women who suffered serious vaginal mesh complications, allegedly due to products marketed by Ethicon and other manufacturers.

Ethicon Transvaginal Mesh Litigation

Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson have been named defendants in more than 55,000 transvaginal mesh lawsuits currently pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation.

According to her lawsuit, Joanne Huskey was implanted with TVT-O mesh in 2011 to treat stress urinary incontinence. She filed suit against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson a year later, alleging that the device was defectively designed and had caused her to suffer chronic pelvic pain and other severe and permanent pelvic mesh complications.

The jury hearing her case awarded Huskey and her husband $3.27 million after finding that Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson had failed to warn doctors and patients about the risks associated with the TVT-O device. As a bellwether case, the outcome of Huskey's lawsuit was expected to provide insight into how juries might rule in similar vaginal mesh claims.

After a federal judge refused the defendants' motion for a new trial, Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon appealed the verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. In January, a three-judge panel with the 4th Circuit found that Huskey had proven her case, prompting Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson to appeal the transvaginal mesh verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the High Court denied the defendants petition for certiorari on October 2nd, without explanation.

Transvaginal Mesh Controversy

Transvaginal mesh devices are intended to treat women suffering from stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. In 2008, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned that the devices had been linked to at least 1,000 reports of serious injuries and complications over a three-year period. An updated notification published in July 2011 indicated that the number of complication reports related to transvaginal prolapse repair had tripled, prompting the FDA modify its previous stance that such injuries are rare.

In 2016, the FDA finalized regulations that reclassified transvaginal mesh indicated for prolapse repair as Class III (high risk) medical devices. The reclassification made the devices ineligible for the agency's 510(k) clearance program, which had previously allowed such products to come to market without first undergoing human clinical trials.

In 2012, Ethicon announced it would stop selling four pelvic mesh devices, including Gynecare TVT Secur, Gynecare Prosima, Gynecare Prolift and Gynecare Prolift+M. While the company denied that its decision was driven by safety concerns, the FDA had recently ordered Ethicon and 20 other vaginal mesh manufacturers to conduct further research into the risks associated with their implants.

Women who suffered serious complications allegedly associated with transvaginal mesh may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and more. To learn more, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website, or call 800-511-5092 to arrange for a free, no-obligation review of your potential claim.

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3.5 billion on behalf of our clients. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is honored to once again be named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List," recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country. This year's nomination marks the thirteenth year the firm has been named to this prestigious annual list.

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Contact Information:
Sandy A. Liebhard, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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http://www.rxinjuryhelp.com/
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SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP