Ethicon has favourable court ruling overturned for mesh devices

Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon has had its favourable court ruling overturned for a trial over its pelvic mesh devices.

In 2013 Ethicon was taken to court over its TVT-Secur mesh device by Kimberly Adkins. The court ruled favourably for Ethicon, stating that the device did not cause Adkins’ injuries, but it was defectively designed and the company failed to warn of its risks.

However, earlier this month judge Michael Erdos reversed the win for Ethicon, ordering the company to face damages on the defective design claim, MassDevice reported.  

The trial was the first win for Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson in the Philadelphia court. Out of five trials Ethicon has lost four and was previously ordered to pay millions in punitive and compensatory damages.  

A range of court cases have been levelled against Johnson & Johnson across the world. In Australia over 700 women are claiming that the company’s vaginal mesh implant not adequately tested and that patients and surgeons were not warned of the risks.

In the UK, senior doctors have called for a public enquiry into the use of the devices after women met with MPs in Westminster earlier this month.