5/29/2015
Boston Scientific must pay $100M to a plaintiff injured by its transvaginal mesh as ordered by a Delaware Jury. This is one of over 25,000 suits against BS; the suits typically claim that the product was poorly designed and that BS failed to warn doctors and patients of the risks involved in using it.
Deborah Barba, the plaintiff, will receive $25M in compensatory damages and $75M in punitive damages, one of the largest verdicts awarded against BS. Barba had BS’ Pinnacle and Advantage Fit meshes implanted in 2009 to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. The mesh caused even more problems than it fixed, including pain, even though it was mostly removed during two surgeries. Parts of the mess are still present in her body.
The jury took only seven hours to deliberate after the two-week trial. Barba’s lawyer, Fidelma Fitzpatrick, said the BS products had “profoundly changed” Barba’s life and that she hoped the $100M verdict would prompt BS and other mesh makers to settle the remaining cases. This verdict is the sixth in favor of plaintiffs who’ve suffered due to BS’ products.
Of course, BS is hollering “BS” over the size of the verdict, claiming that it did nothing wrong. Never mind that fact that the BS mesh product is supposed to help women who already suffer the discomfort and embarrassment of urinary incontinence, not to mention the complications of pelvic organ prolapse. What’s a little bleeding, painful intercourse and other horror film side effects, right? Wrong!
It’s my turn to call “BS!” You cannot convince me that over 100,000 women (those who’ve sued BS and other mesh companies) are just making it up. Neither can you convince me that BS didn’t know its product had problems. Believing that these “side effects” of mesh use are normal is, well, just more “BS.”
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