Boston Injury Lawyer Blog
Manufacturer Boston Scientific must pay a $26.7 million vaginal mesh verdict to four women who claim the medical devices caused them to sustain personal injuries. Jurors deliberated just four hours before finding that company officials defectively designed its Pinnacle pelvic organ implants and neglected to properly warn doctors and patients about the risks involved in using the devices.
Out of the $26.7 million products liability verdict, which was all compensatory damages, over $6.7 million was awarded to Amal Eghnayem, Mania Nunez, and Margarita Dotres, respectively. Juana Betancourt was awarded more than $6.5 million.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys contended that the defendant’s officials disregarded internal calls for additional testing of the device and sent the Pinnacle products into the market too soon. They offered evidence demonstrating that the mesh in the Pinnacle insert was never approved for use in the human body.
Despite the verdict, Boston Scientific maintains that the jury’s findings are incorrect. The manufacturer plans to appeal the decision.
This products liability case is the first one involving the Pinnacle inserts to reach a resolution. Plaintiffs claim that the inserts are made of substandard quality matter and will frequently erode upon insertion. They blame the Pinnacle mesh device for serious complications, including organ damage. Uncomfortable, painful sex is another reported side effect.
Another Boston Scientific vaginal mesh case is slated to wrap up next week. It too, like this one, is involved in a bellwether trial that will help determine the value of the claims.
In September, another jury ordered Boston Scientific to pay a woman $73 million for injuries involving the Obtryx sling, which is also a vaginal mesh implant. The trial judge reduced the verdict to $34.6 million.
The Massachusetts-based company is facing over 23,000 vaginal implant lawsuits in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. Boston Scientific devices under investigation include the Pinnacle Pelvic Floor Repair Kit, the Lynx Suprapublic Mid-Urethral Sling System, the Advantage Fit Transvaginal Mid-Urethral Sling System, the Prefyx PPS Pelvic Sling System, the Solynx SIS Vaginal Sling System, and the Uphold Vaginal Support System.
Patient complaints related to mesh devices include vaginal erosion, organ damage, and serious pain. In many cases, revision surgery, sometimes having to occur as multiple procedures, were required to remove the mesh implant. In certain instances, damage was so severe that the vagina had to be reconstructed.
Other big manufacturers of transvaginal mesh products under scrutiny over their mesh implant devices include Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon subsidiary, Bard Medical, and Endo Pharmaceutical’s American Medical Systems.
You want to speak with a Boston vaginal mesh implant lawyer that understands how these products can cause injury and knows how to prove that the manufacturer and and any other responsible parties were liable. Contact our Massachusetts products liability law firm today.
Boston Scientific ordered to pay $26.7 million over mesh devices, Reuters, November 13, 2014
More Blog Posts:
False Claims Act and Whistleblowers Act: Empowering People to Report Fraud, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 8, 2014
Stryker Settles Hip Implant Lawsuits for $1.43 Billion, Massachusetts Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, November 7, 2014
Recent Massachusetts Pedestrian Accidents in Bridgewater, Lowell, Brockton Lead to Fatalities, Boston Car Lawyer Blog, November 13, 2014
