Johnson & Johnson Is Told to Pay $344 Million in Pelvic Mesh Suit

The award was more than twice the size of the $117 million settlement JJ reached to resolve claims by 41 states and the District of Columbia for similar deceptive marketing accusations arising from the sale of pelvic mesh products by the company’s Ethicon division.

“Johnson Johnson knew the danger of its mesh products but put profits ahead of the health of millions of women,” said the attorney general, Xavier Becerra.

In a statement, Mr. Becerra said the ruling was the first time a court had issued findings of fact that Johnson Johnson “did indeed engage in illegal false and deceptive business practices.”

After years of complaints, the Food and Drug Administration last year stopped the sale of pelvic mesh to treat organ prolapse. Johnson Johnson had stopped selling pelvic mesh to treat that condition in 2012, but it and other manufacturers still sell similar products to treat urinary incontinence.

The most common complaint from women with mesh implants is that they can cause bleeding, searing pain and painful sexual intercourse. Many women have undergone surgeries to remove the implants, but some of those surgeries have had other complications.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/business/transvaginal-mesh-johnson-and-johnson.html?emc=rss&partner=rss