Summary Judgment For J&J's Mentor TVM Reversed

Summary Judgment For J&J's Mentor TVM Reversed

Introduction

A three-judge panel in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the summary judgment granted to a plaintiff in a case against Johnson & Johnson unit Mentor Worldwide LLC over the alleged complications related to the company's defective ObTape Transobturator Sling. The appeals court opined that the case can head to trial, despite being late-filed contradicting the trial court's earlier findings.

The Florida resident filed her complaint seven years after the transvaginal mesh (TVM) was removed when she came across a plaintiff lawyer's advertisement. Until then she was not alerted about the potential claims against the manufacturer. While the company stands by the device's efficiency and safety, the sling was removed from the market in 2006. Cases against Mentor continue to be filed by women facing complications as the mesh gets too ingrained in the vaginal tissues to be removed safely. The company settled a handful of cases back in September and October of 2014. J&J agreed on settling Mentor TVM cases for 111 plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.