J&J to Pay $20 Million in Vaginal-Mesh Case as Other Trials Loom

  • Philadelphia jury found mesh device had defective design
  • Verdict includes $17.5 million in punishment damages
Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
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Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $20 million to a New Jersey woman who blames the company’s vaginal-mesh inserts for leaving her in constant pain as the company prepares for a new wave of trials over the medical devices.

A state-court jury in Philadelphia concluded Friday that J&J’s TVT-Secur mesh, designed to treat incontinence in women, was defectively designed and caused Margaret Engleman’s injuries. The panel awarded her $2.5 million and then hit J&J and its Ethicon unit with $17.5 million in punitive damages.