CVN screenshot of defense attorney Kat Gallagher delivering her closing argument
Dallas, TX - Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit has secured a defense verdict in Texas state court following a trial over allegations that a supposedly defective pelvic mesh implant caused a woman’s chronic pain and other injuries.
The Dallas County jury returned their verdict on December 22 following a trial that began in late November. The trial was among the first to include both product liability claims against a mesh manufacturer and malpractice claims against an implanting surgeon, but the physician defendant in the case obtained a directed verdict prior to the jury beginning deliberations.
Attorneys for plaintiff Jennifer Snowden sought more than $28 million in compensation for injuries they claim she sustained after receiving the “TVT Abbrevo” mesh implant, which they argued included the chemical polypropylene that Ethicon supposedly knew could cause a harmful human tissue reaction.
However Ethicon maintained the use of the TVT Abbrevo was consistent with the standard of care to treat Snowden’s stress urinary incontinence, and that the device has safely and effectively helped thousands of other women without complications.
The full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network. Subscribers to CVN’s online trial video library get unlimited access to the trial along with hundreds more including numerous pelvic mesh cases.
Click here to check out this summary of all the pelvic mesh cases included among the hundreds of civil trials in CVN's online video library - all available with a monthly or annual CVN subscription
In an email to CVN a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson expressed the company’s gratitude for the jury’s verdict.
“We thank the jury for their careful deliberation and for finding that we acted appropriately and responsibly in the research, development, and marketing of TVT-Abbrevo,” he stated.
CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Charla Aldous delivering her closing argument
Attorney Ben Martin of Martin Baughman, who represents Snowden, told CVN his team accepted the jury’s verdict but expressed frustration over a pause in the trial due to two jurors contracting Covid-19.
Judge Paula Rosales ordered the parties to continue the trial virtually with the jurors observing from home, prompting Ethicon to seek successfully seek a stay of the proceedings from an appellate court, though shortly afterwards the jurors recovered and the in-person proceedings continued .
“The jurors having Covid and the defense’s mandamus motions effectively halted the trial for a week in the middle of the evidence. It is never good for there to be such a delay,” Martin said, noting that his team would evaluate their potential options for post-trial motions.
In addition to Martin, Snowden was also represented by Charla Aldous of Aldous \ Walker LLP and by Laura Baughman and Joshua Michaels, also of Martin Baughman.
Ethicon was represented by Kathleen Gallagher of Rodman & Rodman LLC, Victor Vital of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, and by Christopher Cowan of Butler Snow LLP.
Dr. Charmaine Oladell, the implanting surgeon, was represented by Kalvin Wiar and Diane Shaw of Shaw & Associates PC.
The case is captioned Jennifer Snowden v. Ethicon, case number CC-19-05461-D in Dallas County’s Court at Law Number 4.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com