A ruling by a New Jersey judge has struck a blow at the defense by Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) in the ongoing and closely followed multi-district litigation (“MDL”) over talc powder cancer. The ruling allows the cases to continue with support from some of the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses on causation. Tens of thousands of…
Chronic pain, life-threatening infections, and organ perforation have been linked to hernia mesh implants, raising grave concerns over product safety. Given the widespread use of hernia mesh in surgical repairs, it’s no surprise that 2020 is shaping up to be a landmark year for hernia mesh litigation brought by plaintiffs who claim the products are…
Personal injury lawyers strive to prove deliberate negligence or malicious intent in product liability lawsuits. Medical device manufacturers have a duty to conduct rigorous safety tests prior to releasing a product to market and to communicate all known risks to consumers. Determining what breast implant manufacturer Allergan did or didn’t know is at the center…
The medical industry is still absorbing the shock from the Food and Drug Administration’s 2019 announcement that more than 56,000 reports of surgical stapler defects from 2011 through 2018 had been kept from public disclosure in a hidden FDA database. Many of those reports included references to excess bleeding and other surgical complications that resulted…
Over the past eight years, juries across the country have rendered many verdicts against vaginal mesh manufacturers, after finding the devices caused severe and life-threatening complications. In one of the latest pelvic mesh trials, Ethicon – a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson – was hit with an $80 million judgement regarding its Prolift mesh implants,…
Across the U.S., over 1 million people undergo surgery to repair hernias annually. The majority of hernia repairs are done by reinforcing the affected areas with a man-made synthetic mesh. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 33% of patients report adverse events with hernia mesh. These complications, which often manifest as severe…
3M Combat Arms earplugs were standard-issued to thousands of service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2015. However, the manufacturer was sued by the U.S. government and competitor Moldex-Metric Inc. when defects were discovered that could cause tinnitus ringing in the ears and hearing impairment. The Veterans Benefits Administration treats over a…
Over one million hernia repairs are performed in the U.S. each year. Hernias occur when an organ, intestine or fatty tissue squeezes through a hole or weak spot in the surrounding muscle or connective tissue. Often times mesh is used to help repair the hernia. Types of hernia repairs There are three types…
On December 4, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a proposal that it intends to improve the review process for new low to moderate-risk medical devices. It remains to be seen whether the proposal will adequately protect consumers, or whether the form it will take if it is ultimately enacted. FDA review…
The Philadelphia Inquirer (8/3, McCullough, 1.07M) reported that scientists agree that breast implants with textured surfaces, rather than smooth ones, can cause “breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.” Back in 2011, the Food and Drug Administration estimated the risk as less than one in 500,000, but “the risk after a decade of wearing the devices could…