J&J to Pay $117 Million in Nationwide Pact Over Vaginal Mesh

  • Attorneys general argued J&J, Ethicon unit misrepresented risk
  • Companies still face 25,000 consumer lawsuits over product

Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

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Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $117 million to settle 41 states’ claims that it misrepresented the risks of vaginal-mesh products used to bolster sagging organs and treat incontinence in women.

A group of state attorneys general argued after an investigation that marketing by J&J and its Ethicon unit misrepresented the safety of the device, which is alleged to damage organs and leave women in constant pain, according to Ohio Attorney General David Yost.