NJ Woman Awarded $13.5 Million Vaginal Mesh Judgement

A New Jersey woman has received a $13.5 million vaginal mesh award from Ethicon, after a Philadelphia Court of Common pleas jury ruled in her favor in mid-February.

Sharon Carlino filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming she was severely injured by the product manufactured by the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. She had the vaginal mesh implanted in 2005 to treat urinary incontinence and claims to have suffered sharp pains from the implant. The 58-year-old woman was forced to undergo two revisions surgeries — both of which were unsuccessful.

This is the second transvaginal mesh victory against Ethicon in Philadelphia. An Indiana woman won a $12.5 million verdict against the manufacturer in December 2015, after suffering chronic pain following implant surgery.

Ethicon vaginal mesh MDL

The Ethicon pelvic repair system products liability multidistrict litigation was established in the Southern District of West Virginia in 2012. A total of 31,507 pelvic mesh lawsuits have been filed in the MDL, with just 1,179 currently listed as closed. The total number of cases in the Ethicon MDL is still on the rise, as approximately two dozen plaintiffs joined the MDL as recently as Feb. 15. The next trial for the MDL is scheduled to begin on April 11.

80,000+ cases pending in federal court

Judge Joseph R. Goodwin is overseeing the MDLs established for several other manufacturers of transvaginal mesh, including American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, Cook Medical, C.R. Bard, Neomedic and Coloplast Corp.

The Cook Medical MDL was created in June 2013. A total of 469 cases have been filed into it and 108 are listed as closed. A total of seven cases have been added to the MDL so far in 2016. The next bellwether trials are scheduled to begin in May and June 2015.

The American Medical Systems MDL was established in February 2012. In total, 20,069 cases have been added to the proceedings, with nearly half listed as closed. Dozens of new cases have joined the MDL so far in 2016.

The Boston Scientific MDL was created in February 2012. A total of 20,110 cases have been added to the proceedings, but only 990 are listed as closed. Approximately 300 new lawsuits have been added to the MDL in 2016 and this number will likely continue to grow.

The Coloplast Corp. MDL was the first to be formed, dating back to August 2012. Nearly two dozen cases have already been added to the MDL in 2016, which indicates this litigation is showing no signs of a slowdown. A total of 2,378 cases have been added to the MDL since it was established and only 295 have been closed.

The C.R. Bard MDL was established in October 2010. In total, 13,175 cases have been added to the MDL, but just 486 are listed as closed. So far, more than 100 cases have already been added to the proceedings in February 2016. No bellwether trials are currently scheduled.

The Neomedic MDL is the most recently established, forming in February 2014. Out of the 133 cases that have been added to the vaginal mesh multidistrict litigation, only five are listed as closed. Presently, there are no bellwether trials scheduled for the MDL.

In total, more than 88,000 vaginal mesh lawsuits have been centralized in the Southern District of West Virginia, where plaintiffs are demanding just compensation for life-threatening complications from surgical mesh.

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