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Mesh Medical Device News Desk, November 6, 2019 ~ It's been 21 months since a class action trial concluded in Australia against Ethicon, the maker of the most number of polypropylene plastic mesh implants used in women in that country.
In two weeks the Australian judge will issue her decision.
It’s been a long tough legal battle by thousands of Australian women who filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon division.
Image: Outside federal court, Sydney, AU, The Newcastle Herald
The court case in Sydney, Australia against Johnson & Johnson by 700 mesh injured Australians was concluded in February 2018 before Federal Court Justice Anna Katzmann.
Ju7stice Anna Katzman, Federal court, Sydney, AU
She will decide whether polypropylene, the main plastic ingredient for more than 90 percent of mesh implants, is “unsafe at any speed.”
Evidence was presented during the 89 day trial, that polypropylene can shrink, erode, harden, and cause pain.
Prof. Bernard Jacquetin, TVM patent
French inventor, Dr. Bernard Jacquetin said in an email presented at trial that “I would not want my wife to undergo this procedure and I don’t think I’m alone in that.”
Plaintiffs presented evidence of how mesh devices used to treat incontinence and prolapse were marketed to doctors with promises of enriching their practices and speed of surgery, estimated to be about eight minutes!
Presented to the court were Ethicon marketing materials, "the practice driven physician” which shows how doctors who adapt the new technology can “really enjoy life," and "Retire rich."
Lamborghini
"Just got back from a week in St Moritz. I picked up the Lamborghini on Friday. I'm finally going to invest in that sailboat this summer so we can cruise to the Caribbean.
My practice is now at the level of efficiency where I can take some time away to really enjoy life."
This is one of the largest class actions in the world against J&J now numbering 1,250 women implanted with any one of five different polypropylene mesh implants. Estimates are reported in The NewCastle Herald that as many as 5,500 women could have suffered complications.
Unlike the U.S. where a jury hears the evidence, the judge alone is to decide after 21 months. Finally, Thursday, November 21, in Sydney Australia the judgment will be handed down.
The case was filed by Shine Lawyers on behalf of two Western Australian women and one in Victoria. A separate action filed by 850 women against American Medical Systems is also progressing through the Federal Court.
Quoting the Australian Medical Association president, Joanne McCarthy writes he said mesh was “a long way from our proudest hour.”
“To call (our support of mesh products) a tragedy is not overstating it at all.”
THIS STORY IS IN PRODUCTION AND MORE WILL BE ADDED AS COMMENTS COME IN!!! JA, editor 11-6
LEARN MORE:
Mesh News Desk, Surgeons Incentivized with Lamborghinis and Swiss Alps Ski Trips Internal J&J Docs Show, August 14, 2017
Mesh News Desk, Australia Pulls Ethicon TVT Devices Off the Market, January 23, 2018
Mesh News Desk, Pelvic Meshes Removed from Australian Market, September 18, 2017
Mesh News Desk, Mesh Class Action and International Litigation
