In the Multi-District litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, attorneys for women who were implanted with defective Ethicon transvaginal mesh products have filed a motion to obtain a default judgment and other discovery sanctions. The motion accuses Ethicon, Inc. of destroying hundreds of thousands of relevant documents in violation of a court order. Ethicon, Inc. is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and manufactured the TVT-O and Prolift transvaginal mesh products. The plaintiffs’ attorneys submitted evidence that Ethicon destroyed documents from the files of high-ranking executives at the company who had communicated with the FDA about warnings issued by the FDA, deleted computer files from employees leaving the company and even destroyed instructional videos concerning its transvaginal mesh products that contradicted the opinions of one of Ethicon’s expert witnesses. The plaintiffs’ attorneys also claimed that Ethicon failed to establish an appropriate document retention policy despite the ongoing litigation involving claims brought by thousands of women who were implanted with its mesh products. The motion argues that the plaintiffs have been severely prejudiced as a result of the destruction of these documents. These are serious allegations that could result in the Court entering a default judgment against Ethicon, Inc. in the cases that have been assigned a February, 2014 trial date. The court has yet to issue a decision on the motion.
SUGARMAN attorneys are actively representing clients in the transvaginal mesh litigation. If you would like more information about transvaginal mesh, or would like to discuss your potential claim, please fill out a Contact Form, Contact Form, call Marianne C. LeBlanc or David McCormack at 617-542-1000 or e-mail mleblanc@sugarman.com or dmccormack@sugarman.com.