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Published on September 6, 2017
Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary was ordered to pay plaintiff Ella Ebaugh $57 million dollars for injuries she suffered from their transvaginal mesh implants. The verdict, rendered in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, was the largest verdict in the Philadelphia mass tort litigation.
Ebaugh, 51, was treated for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with J&J mesh implants called TVT and TVT-Secur. While the implants successfully treated that minor condition initially, later the mesh eroded into her urethra. Three surgeries were required to remove the mesh. According to her lawsuit, Ebaugh’s injuries included extensive scarring to her urethra, intrinsic sphincter deficiency, chronic urinary tract infections, chronic pelvic pain and dyspareunia, or chronic pain during sex. She has been unable to work since the mesh eroded.
The jury awarded $7.1 million in compensatory damages, and $50 million in punitive damages. It is the fifth successive multi-million dollar award against J&J and its Ethicon unit in a pelvic mesh case. You can read more about the previous awards here: Belz ($2.16 million); Engleman ($20 million); Carlino ($13.5 million); and Hammons ($12.5 million).
J&J and Ethicon plan to appeal the verdict.
Attorney Marilyn McGoldrick leads Thornton Law Firm’s vaginal mesh injury team. We represent women in claims against Boston Scienific, Caldera, Coloplast, Cook Medical, C.R. Bard, Inc., Mentor Worldwide, and Sofradim/Covidien, as well as against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit. If you have pelvic mesh implant and have experienced side effects, including mesh erosion, mesh contraction, infection, pain, urinary problems, severe pelvic pain, bleeding, vaginal tightening or shortening, inability to engage in sexual intercourse, painful sexual intercourse, additional surgeries, or organ perforation, and would like a confidential and fair evaluation of your legal claim, please call us at our toll free number 1-888-341-1405, or tell us your story on the online. Time limits for filing legal claims are short and strictly enforced. Seek legal advice immediately about your defective mesh implant.
