In an update on our previous posts concerning the transvaginal mesh implant case of Gross v. Gynecare Inc., Atl-L-6966-10, Superior Court of Atlantic County, New Jersey, the same jury just returned a verdict of $7.76 Million more dollars in punitive damages. This amount is in addition to the compensatory verdict of $3.35 Million awarded earlier this week for a grand total of $11.1 Million in all.
Jurors in Atlantic City made the award today to punish J&J, the world’s largest seller of health-care products. The verdict came in the first of 4,000 lawsuits to go to trial over J&J’s pelvic mesh, including 2,100 in New Jersey. The jury of six men and three women declined to comment on its decision.
The total of $11.1 million goes to Linda Gross, a South Dakota nurse who complained of constant pain and underwent 18 operations after J&J’s Gynecare Prolift was implanted to shore up weakened pelvic muscles. On Feb. 25, the panel found that J&J and its Ethicon unit failed to warn her surgeon of the risks of the device and fraudulently misled her about the risks.
The Bloomberg news has just reported the events of the case here:
