Jury Awards Northwest Indiana Woman $35 Million in Transvaginal Mesh Trial Against Johnson & Johnson
(Chicago, IL) – After a nine day trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, a nine-member jury returned a $35 million verdict in favor of a northwest Indiana couple, Barbara and Anton Kaiser, for the injuries Barbara incurred from a Johnson & Johnson product, the Prolift transvaginal mesh. The jurors found that Johnson & Johnson, and its sub-division Ethicon, negligently designed the Prolift and failed to adequately warn of the device’s risks.
The jury awarded the Kaisers $10 million in compensation for their injuries, and $25 million in punitive damages as punishment to Johnson & Johnson for its willful and wanton disregard for patient safety.
The Kaisers were represented by Jeffrey M. Kuntz of Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP, Edward A. Wallace of Wexler Wallace LLP, and attorney Thomas O. Plouff.
“I am very happy for the Kaiser family.” Edward A. Wallace of Wexler Wallace LLP said on Friday. “We had a very attentive jury that carefully considered all the evidence and did the right thing. Their names may never be known, but we hope Johnson & Johnson and other medical manufacturers will start to listen to these juries before they put a medical device on the market that lacks clinical data and adequate warnings.”
Jeff Kuntz of Wagstaff & Cartmell, echoed those comments, saying: “This just reaffirms my faith in our judicial system. It shows juries can see past corporate influence in the medical industry, and compensate injured people when products are sold without ever being properly studied. I applaud my client for her courage in standing up to one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world.”
“Ethicon defended an indefensible product and the jury stood up for Barb Kaiser. We thank them for their service,” said Thomas O. Plouff of Costello, McMahon, Burke & Murphy, Ltd.
The case is Barbara Kaiser et al v. Ethicon, Inc. et al., Case Number 2:17-cv-00114, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The trial team also included Andy Faes of Wagstaff and Cartmell LLP, Tim Jackson of Wexler Wallace LLP and others. For more information please contact Jeff Kuntz at 816-522-5752 (jkuntz@wagstaffcartmell.com) or Edward Wallace at 312-485-0009 (eaw@wexlerwallace.com).