Bard Inc. has lost its Fourth Circuit appeal of a jury’s $2 million verdict in a trial that found the medical device maker liable for a woman’s injuries from defective vaginal mesh implants. This suit is one of four bellwethers in the West Virginia MDL and is the first to go to trial in federal court out of a group of suits brought by thousands of women over injuries allegedly caused by the implants which are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence. In addition to finding that evidence regarding safety warnings was properly admitted and evidence regarding FDA clearance was properly excluded, the court affirmed that the $1.75 million in punitive damages, in comparison with $250,000 in compensatory damages, wasn’t excessive.
