With over 70,000 cases pending against mesh implant manufacturers, a federal judge recently took the unusual step of urging one of those manufacturers, C.R. Bard Inc., to settle lawsuits over the company’s vaginal mesh implants or face the possibility of juries awarding billions of dollars to plaintiffs.
There has been a series of multi-million dollar settlements by mesh manufacturers, and verdicts continue to go against them; AMS settled approximately 20,000 claims in May for $830 million, Boston Scientific has recently had three verdicts against them over mesh implants totaling over $100 million, In September a West Virginia jury ordered J&J to pay $3.27 million to woman who received one of the company’s implants, and in October Bard agreed to settle 500 mesh lawsuits for about $21 million after losing two earlier mesh lawsuits totaling $7million.
None of this was lost on U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, who is presiding over thousands of consolidated cases in Charleston, West Virginia. In a transcript of a December 9 hearing Judge Goodwin is reported as saying, “I can’t imagine a corporation facing potentially billions of dollars in verdicts wouldn’t find it advisable to try to achieve a settlement for a much lesser sum, I base that billions of dollars business on some of the rather large verdicts that we’ve had.”
Bard has over 12,000 outstanding mesh cases against them, and Judge Goodwin appears to be warning executives at the company that by not resolving the litigation they are gambling with the future of the company.
Over the course of my career I have rarely seen a federal judge issue a warning like this to company executives and shareholders. Bard would do well to heed the Judges cautions. In July the company acknowledged in SEC filings that it faces significant financial exposure over the vaginal-mesh claims. Without a settlement the company could face potential bankruptcy.
Judge Goodwin has expressed frustration that many of these companies – even after losing millions in cases against them – have been reluctant to seek comprehensive settlements. These latest warnings might be an indication that the arrogance of mesh manufacturers and their continued delaying tactics may be coming to an end. The time has come for them to be held responsible for the dangerous and defective products they sold and the injuries they caused.