Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has filed a civil lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon division over its surgical mesh products. In filing the case, Beshear noted the deceptive marketing practices of the huge pharmaceutical company that has led to thousands of injuries.
“The way this company clearly chose profits over people is outrageous,” Beshear said in a statement. “My office has talked to victims whose lives have been devastated by this company’s deceitful practices. We may not be able to give them back the lives they once had, but my office will do everything we can to hold this company accountable.”
The lawsuit was filed under the state’s Consumer Protection Act that forbids companies like Johnson & Johnson from using deceptive marketing practices to increase profits at the expense of consumers. The lawsuit states J&J “concealed and misrepresented to doctor and patients many of the risks of adverse events associated with these devices.” Mesh crippled some women who had to undergo multiple surgeries to remove the implant.
According to the lawsuit, J&J “denied women the ability to make informed choices regarding their health and caused them to unknowingly take risks with their well-being.”
The transvaginal mesh which is the medical device at issue in the lawsuit has come under increased scrutiny has thousands of women have been injured by them. Doctors have inserted the transvaginal mesh in order to treat pelvic organ prolapse- a condition that causes bodily organs to sink into the vaginal area.
Nearly 33,000 federal lawsuits are pending against J&J’s Ethicon division in West Virginia. C.R. Bard, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, Coloplast and Cook Medical also face lawsuits. Altogether, about 75,000 lawsuits claim companies failed to warn doctors and women about the risks tied to the implants.
If you or a loved one have been injured by a transvaginal mesh device, please contact Saunders & Walker today.
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