Dive Brief:
- According to Johnson & Johnson, many of the 24,000 lawsuits that the company is facing over injuries caused by its vaginal-mesh implants may have been the result of unsolicited pressure from callers using unauthorized information. The personal information, which is HIPAA protected, is allegedly being used fraudulently and, in many cases, women are being asked to lie.
- The pelvic mesh device was intended to be implanted to shore up weakened pelvic muscles and control urinary incontinence. However, plaintiffs in this case claim that the device was designed and manufactured in a defective manner, which has led to numerous injuries.
- All federal mesh litigation against J&J and other mesh implant manufacturers is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin. In other cases against J&J, Bard, and Boston Scientific, juries have already awarded $135 million in damages.
Dive Insight:
Detractors claim that J&J's statements about unsolicited mesh-implant lawsuits is part of an effort to shift attention away from the case itself and to obfuscate the fact that some women may have suffered bodily harm from mesh implants including organ perforation, scarring, or nerve damage.
Nonetheless, there are records of phone solicitors urging women to file lawsuits—even in cases where they never had the implants in the first place. While many lawyers seeking damages for plaintiffs who have suffered as a result of a defective device are honest, there are still a number of bottom-feeding lawyers who specialize in false claims. It's not really clear how things will turn out, but this ongoing case has suddenly taken an interesting turn.