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Another Rescheduling in the last bellwether trial against C.R. Bard
It appears that the Carolyn Jones product liability trial naming C.R. Bard has been cancelled for a third time. Originally scheduled to start December 3, Tuesday, Court Order #380 states there will be a Pretrial Conference Thursday, January 9 at 1 pm and a trial January 10, 2014 at 8:30 am.
The last trial of Wanda Queen settled the morning it was to begin after court convened in expectation of a trial. The trial of Linda Rizzo was dismissed a month before it was set to go to trial in October. Rizzo was required to pay C.R. Bard in excess of $14,000 for its trial preparation costs.
What do we know about Carolyn Jones?
Carolyn Jones is the last in the four bellwether cases naming mesh manufacturer C.R. Bard. Her case 2:11-cv-00114 was filed December 7, 2010.
Jones is a resident of Tippah County, Mississippi. She is suing C.R. Bard of Murray Hill New Jersey and Covidien Inc. d/b/a Sofradim Production, a Delaware corporation with its principal places of business in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
On August 26, 2008, she was implanted with the Bard Avaulta Synthetic Support System, made by both C.R. Bard and Covidien during a surgery performed by Dr. David Williams at Baptist Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Mississippi. At the time she suffered from pelvic organ prolapse. During the surgery she also received a Bard Align sling to treat incontinence.
According to Court Document #151, Justin Winn, Dr. Williams’ Bard representative was present almost every time the doctor implanted the product.
Jones filed a product liability claim alleging strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, loss of consortium for her husband. She is asking for punitive damages.
In the first Bard bellwether case of Donna Cisson last July, the jury awarded her $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.7 million in punitive damages. See background story here. The Wanda Queen case settled for an undisclosed amount.
Update* The Jones case settled in April 2014 for an undisclosed amount as trial was scheduled for May 2014. Here is the dismissal order.
Learn More:
Bard Jones Exhibit #380 Court Order rescheduling Jones Trial to January 10 2014
Bard Exhibit #151 Jones Pl motion for Partial Sum Judgment based on Bards Affirmative Defenses
