In a July 19th ruling, the Hon. Carol Higbee, presiding judge over the consolidated litigation in Atlantic City, ordered that three Johnson & Johnson executives must testify in court regarding their transvaginal mesh products.
The executives are new CEO Alex Gorsky, former J&J Vice Chairman Sheri McCoy, and Ethicon Franchise head Gary Pruden.
The ruling was issued a day before the landmark ruling against C.R. Bard, which awarded $5.5 million to Christine Scott and her husband for damages incurred, resulting from her transvaginal mesh surgery.
Judge Higbee also ruled that, prior to the depositions, extensive electronic searches of the executives’ computers would be conducted, and if any relevant information was found on former Chief Executive William Weldon’s computer, that would be presented as well.
Attorneys for the defendants stated that the chief executives would have little knowledge of problems associated with transvaginal mesh products. Transvaginal mesh is designed to help stop pelvic organ prolapse, or stress urinary incontinence. However, the products have been linked to a variety of damaging side effects, including pain, infection, tissue deterioration, and continued organ prolapse. The devices often get “fast-tracked” approval through the FDA’s 510(k) process, without a full investigation and approval, because they are based on one original device – Boston Scientific’s ProteGen, which was approved in 1996. However, the ProteGen mesh device was voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer in 1999, because of complaints that it was defective.
The latest ruling occurred after J&J voluntarily removed 4 transvaginal mesh products from the market, and put stronger labels on a 5th.
If you or a loved one has a transvaginal mesh implant, and have suffered physical damage and complications as a result of the device, you may deserve compensation. The experienced lawyers at Strom Law, LLC can help get you on the road to recovery. Please contact us today for a free consultation. 803.252.4800.
