Second Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Trial in MDL Set to Begin August 22

While Johnson & Johnson continues to face more than 17,500 Ethicon pelvic mesh lawsuits pending in the federal court system, the U.S. District Judge presiding over the consolidated litigation has scheduled a second bellwether trial to begin in August.  

All of the complaints involve similar allegations raised by women who received Ethicon Gynecare mesh for transvaginal repair or pelvic organ prolapse or female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

The pelvic mesh and bladder sling products have been linked to serious and debilitating injuries where the mesh may erode through the vagina, cause infections or other complications.

In the federal court system, the cases have been consolidated as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, before U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia for coordinated discovery and pretrial management of the claims.

As part of centralized proceedings, a small group of cases were selected for early trial dates last year, known as “bellwether” cases since they are designed to be representative of other claims in the litigation and help the parties gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that may be similar to what will be offered during other trials.

In February, the first in a series of three Ethicon bellwether trials began before Judge Goodwin, involving a lawsuit filed by Carolyn Lewis. However, that case ended in a defense verdict at the conclusion of the plaintiffs’ case, after Judge Goodwin found that a reasonable jury could not find that she had met her burden of proof.

According to a pretrial order (PDF) issued by Judge Goodwin on May 6, jury selection in the second Ethicon pelvic mesh trial is now set to begin on August 22, with trial set to commence on August 25. A lawsuit filed by Jo Huskey is scheduled for this trial date, with a backup case filed by Tonya Edwards set to proceed to trial on that date if the Huskey case has settled or is otherwise not ready.

Pelvic Mesh Lawsuits

In addition to cases involving Ethicon mesh, Judge Goodwin is also presiding over six other consolidated proceedings involving similar pelvic mesh products manufactured by American Medical Systems (AMS), Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Coloplast Corp, Cook Medical and Neomedic.

According to the latest case list (PDF) released by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) on May 15, there are currently more than 17,293 AMS mesh lawsuits, 10,800 Boston Scientific mesh lawsuits, 7,783 Bard Avaulta mesh lawsuits, 1,325 Coloplast mesh lawsuits, 184 Cook Medical mesh lawsuits and about 28 Neomedic Pelvic mesh lawsuits.

All of the lawsuits involve similar allegations that transvaginal mesh and bladder sling products were defective and unreasonably dangerous, causing women to experience complications where the mesh eroded through the vagina, caused infections and other injuries.

In addition to the Ethicon bellwether trials, a series of cases are being prepared for early trial dates involving pelvic mesh products manufactured by C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific and AMS.

In July 2013, a federal jury awarded $2 million in damages against Bard, including punitive damages. A second Bard case settled during the first day of trial for an undisclosed sum, and a third bellwether trial against Bard settled late last month, avoiding a trial that was set to begin this week.

In addition to the federal litigation, at least three other vaginal mesh cases have gone before state court juries, with each plaintiff being awarded more than a million dollars in damages. In July 2012, a California state court jury awarded $5.5 million in damages against C.R. Bard. A New Jersey state court jury awarded $11.1 million in damages against Ethicon in March 2013, and a Texas jury awarded $1.2 million in an Ethicon TVT-O mesh lawsuit last month.

Prior to the start of the AMS bellwether trials this year, it was announced earlier this month that Endo Health Solutions has agreed to pay $830 million to settle AMS mesh lawsuits filed by about 20,000 women. As a result, Judge Goodwin issued an order on May 6, canceling AMS bellwether trial dates set for June 2, July 7 and August 19.

Following the Ethicon trial for the Huskey or Edwards case on August 22, a third bellwether trial in that MDL date has been set for December 4, 2014.

If manufacturers do not reach pelvic mesh settlements to resolve a large portion of the litigation following these bellwether trials, it is expected that Judge Goodwin may begin remanding hundreds of cases back to U.S. District Courts throughout the country for individual trial dates.