More than 1,350 Australian women have won a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday for "cheating patients and surgeons" on the risks of pelvic mesh implants , used primarily for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse ( POP)
After seven years of waiting, the federal court in Australia has recognized that the pharmaceutical company had sold the devices without warning women about the "seriousness of the risks", and therefore must pay the damages to which they have been seen the patients To know the amount of compensation, the judge in the case, Anna Katzmann, has set the next hearing for February, where the damages will be assessed.
This is not the only demand the company has had on its vaginal mesh. Patients from the United States, Canada and Europe have denounced the pharmaceutical company for implants, used to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse . In fact, in October, J&J agreed to pay almost 105.5 million euros ($ 117 million) to settle claims in 41 US states and the District of Columbia.
The Federal Court of Australia determined that the J&J subsidiary, Ethicon, had sold the devices without warning of the "seriousness of the risks", and was negligent in launching the products to the market before the appropriate tests had been carried out. In this regard, Ethicon has indicated that it is reviewing the court's decision and would consider its options to appeal in the next few hours.
"Ethicon believes that the company acted ethically and responsibly in the research, development and supply of these products," they explain in a statement.
For his part, in Judge Katzmann has ruled that much of the information that the company provided on the devices was "inaccurate" and sometimes made "false representations." "The question is whether this behavior, considered as a whole, was misleading or is likely to mislead. I think it was," Katzmann said sharply in the trial.
"The post-marketing evaluation of all Ethicon devices was poor. (...) It fell well below the level of care required of a reasonably prudent manufacturer. The risks were known, not insignificant and, as Ethicon admitted, could occur serious damage if they occur, "says the ruling.
For their part, patients have expressed how they have suffered chronic pain, bleeding and severe discomfort during sexual intercourse after having surgically implanted the mesh. "They have treated women essentially as guinea pigs, they have lied about it and have done nothing to help," Julie Davis, the original plaintiff in the case, told journalists after hearing the ruling.
"Incredibly pleased" with the sentence, Davis has lamented that, this ruling will not "eliminate the pain and damage caused to women."
These devices were sold for more than 10 years before they were banned in 2017 in Australia, and this case is likely to be the largest medical malpractice compensation payment in Australian history.
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