In our last post, we discussed the wave of litigation brought against medical device company Johnson & Johnson over its defective transvaginal mesh implants. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against J&J and other mesh implant manufacturers by women who have suffered severe pain and medical complications after their mesh implants failed.

One Bakersfield, California, jury recently awarded a woman $5 million after she was left incontinent and in chronic pain because of a mesh implant failure. The device was manufactured by C.R. Bard Inc., a medical equipment maker based in New Jersey.

The woman alleged that she had to have nine corrective surgeries due to the medical issues caused by the mesh device. “The evidence showed the implant eroded and caused incontinence and pelvic pain,” her attorney said.

The jury also awarded the woman’s husband $500,000 for his loss of consortium claim. Such claims are relatively common in transvaginal mesh cases. A loss of consortium claim alleges that a medical device manufacturer’s defective product caused a person to lose the benefits of a familial relationship. These claims are most frequently filed in transvaginal mesh litigation by husbands who can no longer have intimate relationships with their wives because their wives are so seriously injured by their failed mesh implants.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, “Bard, Doctor Ordered to Pay $5.5 Million Over Implant,” Jef Feeley, July 25, 2012