On July 20, 2012, in the Superior Court for Kern County, California, a jury awarded plantiff Christine Scott and her husband $5.5 million in damages from a malfunctioning transvaginal mesh implant. (See Scott v. Kannappan, S-1500-CV-266034-WDE) Scott endured 8 surgeries and 9 additional procedures as a result of the damages caused by her faulty transvaginal mesh implant. The Jury award included $5 million for Mrs. Scott, and $500,000 for her husband for loss of consortium. The Jurors held that Bard, the company who develops the vaginal implants, had been negligent in its handing of the devices which were used to treat pelvic organs prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
The decision is important because it is the first of many similar lawsuits and stands as a victory for similarly situated plaintiffs across the United States. C.R. Bard officials are dissatisfied with the results of the trial, and plan on an appeal. In response to the jury verdict, a spokesmen for Bard commented, “[w]hile we empathize with the complications suffered by the plaintiff, those complications are not the fault of any conduct by the company…. [w]e believe the evidence establishes that our Avaulta mesh products, cleared by the FDA, are safe and effective and provide significant benefits to patients.”
Scott’s lawyer, Elaine Houghton, commented, “[t]hey seemed to focus on evidence we produced showing that Bard didn’t properly test the product before putting it on the market.” C.R. Bard Medical did stop selling in the United States its Avaulta Mesh on July 1, 2012, this action only took place after the FDA demanded more clinical trials. Despite C.R. Bard’s recall of the Avaulta Mesh in the United States, the device is still sold in other countries.
The first federal court trial against Bard is set for just months from now in February of 2013. Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued the bellwether trial date order on May 1, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, where the Bard case (MDL No. 2187) has been litigated since 2010.
Please contact the DC medical malpractice lawyers at Basyuk & Klaproth if you have any questions concerning a possible medical malpractice lawsuit.
