Georgia Judge Upholds $2.4 Million Verdict in ObTape Sling Product Liability Lawsuit
This month, a court in Georgia reduced a $4 million verdict awarded to the plaintiff in a Johnson & Johnson transvaginal mesh lawsuit in half, stating that a statutory cap on damages limited the plaintiff’s recovery to $2 million. The plaintiff requested that the judge refrain from applying the cap, but the judge declined. In addition to the $2 million award, the judge approved a $400,000 compensatory damages claim, making the total award to the plaintiff $2.4 million.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit was a Florida woman who filed a lawsuit after discovering that she suffered injuries and complications after being implanted with an ObTape Sling manufactured by Mentor Worldwide LLC and Johnson & Johnson. According to some estimates, nearly 35,000 women were implanted with the device between 2003 and 2006. The plaintiff received the device in 2004 to treat her stress urinary incontinence condition. Shortly after being implanted with the device, the plaintiff experienced the erosion of bodily tissues, including her vaginal wall, requiring substantial reparative surgeries. Among the many painful injuries she sustained, the plaintiff also dealt with ongoing and excruciating infections.
In her lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to provide sufficient warnings regarding the dangers associated with the ObTape sling device, including the erosion of bodily tissue, and that the company failed to provide sufficient testing to determine whether the product was safe for its intended use.