Defective Pelvic Mesh Injury

Defective Pelvis Mesh

Case Wins $41 Million Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson. In Philadelphia, Suzanne Emmett won a landmark case against Johnson & Johnson. Suzanne had a defective pelvic mesh implant. A jury found her Proflift and TVT-O mesh implants were defective. The jury assigned responsibility to the company for negligence in engineering the devices.

Similar cases have also been successful. $80 million verdict in Prolift Vaginal Mesh lawsuit.

What Is A Pelvic Mesh Implant?

Pelvic mesh is used to reinforce the pelvic wall, relieving medical issues. Mesh treats medical conditions like Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) and Pelvic Oran Prolapse (POP).

Defective Pelvic Mesh Lawsuit

Mrs. Emmett’s Prolift pelvic mesh was defective and resulted in injury. This prompted her to file a lawsuit against the medical product giant. A jury awarded her $25 million in punitive damages and $15 million in compensation. Additionally, $1 million was awarded to her husband. The $41 million verdict is a big win for Mrs. Emmett and her husband.

Product Manufacturing Negligence

Medical device manufacturers have a responsibility. They must manufacture their products in line with standard protocol and safety procedures. Where there is negligence, a defective mesh implant may hurt someone.

Pelvic mesh manufacturers owe patients a safe product. Manufacturers have a duty. Their duty is to inspect and replace all implants which may cause injury.

Proving Negligence

To file a lawsuit for negligence, a plaintiff must prove:

Someone else had a duty of care to keep the patient out of harm’s way,
That person/company breached their duty of care,
That breach caused the patient’s injuries, and
The extent of the injuries that the patient suffered.

Defective Pelvic Mesh Product Liability

Patients put their trust in doctors and medical products. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer and business to remedy the injury. When a defective product causes injury or death, call a lawyer for real advice.

The state of Pennsylvania follows two standards when determining product liability:

The Consumer Expectations Standard. This standard asks whether the product is more dangerous than the reasonable consumer would expect. In example, a reasonable consumer would expect a knife blade to be sharp. Because of this, they might not be able to recover for their cut hand. But, a sharp handle on the knife would be a surprise and could prove the product had a defective design.
The Risk-Utility Standard. This asks if the injury was serious enough or likely enough to have outweighed the burden of taking precautions. A phone battery that explodes when put through a dryer cycle might not be defective. But, a phone battery that explodes in your pocket would.

Manufacturing Defect

Manufacturing defects cause injury due to a flaw in the manufacturing process. The flaw happened during production rather than the design itself. Manufacturing defect claims involve strict liability. Or, they show the manufacturer didn’t intend to cause injury. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness of the defect. Instead, a lawsuit will reveal the product was defective and its defect is the cause of your injury.

Statute Of Limitations

Pennsylvania law statute Title 42, Section 5524. There is a 2-year statute of limitation placed for lawsuits covering product liability. Usually, this starts from the day you knew or should have known there was a problem.