Johnson & Johnson Is Told to Pay $344 Million in Pelvic Mesh Suit The ruling centers on marketing practices for a kind of medical device that has prompted years of personal injury litigation and billions in payouts. Johnson & Johnson’s headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J. The company intends to appeal the pelvic mesh ruling. Johnson & Johnson’s headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J. The company intends to appeal the pelvic mesh ruling.Credit...Mel Evans/Associated Press Matthew Goldstein By Matthew Goldstein Jan. 30, 2020 Johnson & Johnson should pay $344 million in damages because the company deceptively marketed transvaginal pelvic mesh implants to tens of thousands of women in California, a judge ruled Thursday. Johnson & Johnson said it intended to appeal the ruling, which it said “disregards” the company’s compliance with federal regulations. The judgment was framed as a civil penalty against the company related to sales practices for its pelvic mesh products, which have been the subject of years of personal injury litigation from women who used them to treat a condition called organ prolapse. The total payouts by a handful of the mesh manufacturers to injured women now tally about $8 billion. The ruling, by Judge Eddie Sturgeon of San Diego Superior Court, was less than the $800 million in damages the state had asked for last year at trial. California’s attorney general first filed this deceptive marketing lawsuit in 2016. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story The award was more than twice the size of the $117 million settlement J&J reached to resolve claims by 41 states and the District of Columbia for similar deceptive marketing accusations arising from the sale of pelvic mesh products by the company’s Ethicon division. “Johnson & Johnson knew the danger of its mesh products but put profits ahead of the health of millions of women,” said the attorney general, Xavier Becerra. In a statement, Mr. Becerra said the ruling was the first time a court had issued findings of fact that Johnson & Johnson “did indeed engage in illegal false and deceptive business practices.” After years of complaints, the Food and Drug Administration last year stopped the sale of pelvic mesh to treat organ prolapse. Johnson & Johnson had stopped selling pelvic mesh to treat that condition in 2012, but it and other manufacturers still sell similar products to treat urinary incontinence. The most common complaint from women with mesh implants is that they can cause bleeding, searing pain and painful sexual intercourse. Many women have undergone surgeries to remove the implants, but some of those surgeries have had other complications. Editors’ Picks They Survived the Spanish Flu, the Depression and the Holocaust David Chang Isn’t Sure the Restaurant Industry Will Survive Covid-19 Coronavirus and Sex: Questions and Answers Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Some doctors, consultants and lawyers have even tried to profit from concern about mesh implants. Last year, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn indicted a doctor and a marketing consultant in a kickback scheme that involved luring women with mesh implants to get removal surgery, even if the implants weren’t causing many problems for them. In a 128-page decision, Judge Sturgeon said Johnson & Johnson had abused its trust by “depriving physicians of the ability to properly counsel” patients about the risks of having a synthetic device implanted in their bodies. “This abuse of trust is particularly egregious when it comes to selling a permanent implant with no exit strategy while hiding its risks,” he said. The manufacturers of mesh implants have argued that millions of women with the medical devices have not suffered complications and the implants have proved beneficial to them. Johnson & Johnson, in its statement, said the company “empathizes with women who suffer from pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence.” But the pharmaceutical company added that “millions of patients have benefited from Ethicon’s devices.” The company said it “responsibly communicated” the risks of mesh implants to doctors and patients. PELVIC MESH LITIGATION Two Men Charged in Pelvic Mesh Removal SchemeMay 24, 2019 Johnson & Johnson Settles Pelvic Mesh Sale Claims for $117 MillionOct. 17, 2019 As Pelvic Mesh Settlements Near $8 Billion, Women Question Lawyers’ FeesFeb. 1, 2019 Matthew Goldstein covers Wall Street and white collar crime and housing issues. @mattgoldstein26
| Types | Organization |
| Start date | 2020 |