Hernia Mesh Lawsuit News and Updates 2018

Mesh Lawsuit Update: Johnson & Johnson Appeals $20 Million Mesh Verdict

October 23, 2018

A little more than a decade ago, New Jersey resident Peggy Engleman, like millions of Americans, was suffering from stress urinary incontinence, a common condition that particularly afflicts women who have been pregnant and given childbirth. In the hopes of relieving her symptoms, in June 2007, Peggy Engleman underwent surgery during which she had TVT-Secur mesh manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon implanted into her pelvic region.

Unfortunately, rather than relieving her symptoms and allowing Ms. Engleman to return to her normal lifestyle, the TVT-Secur mesh began causing complications only a month later, when it was discovered that a portion of the mesh had become exposed in Ms. Engleman’s vagina, causing her a great deal of pain and discomfort. Ms. Engleman underwent subsequent operations in September 2007, February 2008, and December 2013 in an effort to address the chronic pain. Although portions of the original Ethicon TVT-Secur mesh were removed with each subsequent surgery, doctors still found pieces that had eroded into her vagina during the December 2013 operation, Ms. Engleman’s fourth surgery involving the mesh implant.

In April 2014, Ms. Engleman saw a television ad for a law firm taking on surgical mesh claims just like hers. She sued, and, following a three-week trial in April 2018, a Pennsylvania jury delivered a verdict in her favor, ordering Ethicon to pay $2.5 million in compensatory damages and $17.5 million in punitive damages.

Now, however, Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon are seeking to have that verdict dismissed, arguing before a three-judge appellate panel on October 17 that Ms. Engleman’s claims should be tossed out because she did not file her suit until after the two-year statute of limitations had expired. The appeal revives what was a major issue at trial: When should the two-year countdown begin?

Before the appellate panel, attorneys for the defendant companies continued to argue, as the jury explicitly rejected at trial, that the two-year period should begin in 2007 when Ms. Engleman first became aware of the issues with her Ethicon mesh implant.

At least one of the judges sitting on the panel appeared to express skepticism over such an argument, with Judge Alice Beck Debow saying to an attorney for the defense, “Everything you’re telling us now, the jury heard that and they found there was no statute of limitations violation,” according to Law360.

Ms. Engleman’s case is part of a pelvic mesh mass tort program taking place in Pennsylvania state court in Philadelphia County. At the time of the April 2018 verdict, Law360 reported that 183 other cases remained pending as part of the program.

Ms. Engleman was the third plaintiff in the Philadelphia mass tort program to prevail on similar claims against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon. In 2015, a jury awarded a woman from Indiana $12.5 million, and, in 2016, a New Jersey woman received $13.5 million. (In September 2018, the judge overseeing a subsequent case announced that the jury had deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial. Though the jurors were able to agree that Ethicon had been negligent in designing the mesh implant, they were unable to reach a consensus as to whether that negligence was the cause of the plaintiff’s alleged injuries.)

This case shows once again how important it is to file your legal claim as early as possible! If you or a loved one has been injured by a problematic mesh implant or other defective medical device, contact the experienced attorneys at TheLawFirm.com right away for a free legal consultation with a licensed attorney!