Settlement Reached in Mesh Class Actions Against Johnson & Johnson Medical and Ethicon

Shine Lawyers welcomed a $300 million settlement in two class actions brought against Johnson & Johnson Medical and Ethicon which sought damages on behalf of Australian women who received pelvic mesh implants.

A First Class Action, to Trial for Seven Months

The settlement reached on 9 September 2022 is the largest settlement in a product liability class action in Australian history, and is subject to approval by the Federal Court.

The first class action was filed in the Federal Court on 15 October 2012, and ran to trial over seven months between July 2017 and February 2018.

Judgment was delivered in the applicants’ favor in November 2019.

Johnson & Johnson Medical and Ethicon appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court, which dismissed the appeal in March 2021.

In November 2021 the High Court dismissed Johnson & Johnson Medical’s application for special leave to appeal.

The Second Class Actions Was Filed Last April

The second class action was filed in April 2021 on behalf of women who received their implants on or after 4 July 2017 and were not eligible to join the first class action.

Shine Lawyers’ Class Actions Practice Leader Rebecca Jancauskas said the settlement will help support women’s treatment needs.

“We welcome this settlement which brings the litigation to an end. If the Federal Court approves the settlement our focus will shift to the important task of distributing the settlement to group members,” she said.

The complications which can result from the implants includes erosion of the mesh into surrounding organs, chronic pain, painful sexual intercourse and incontinence.

“Women who believe they may be eligible to receive compensation should contact Shine Lawyers at [email protected].”

9 Types of Implants Were Included in the Lawsuit

Women implanted with one or more of the below devices in Australia up to 30 June 2020 who suffered one or more complications as a result may be eligible for compensation.

The implants included in the proceedings are:

• Gynecare Prolift Pelvic Floor Repair Systems (Anterior, Posterior and Total);
• Gynecare Prosima Pelvic Floor Repair Systems (Anterior, Posterior and Combined);
• Gynecare Prolift+M Pelvic Floor Repair Systems (Anterior, Posterior and Total);
• Gynecare TVT;
• Gynecare TVT Abbrevo;
• Gynecare TVT Secur;
• Gynecare TVT Exact;
• Gynecare TVT Obturator; and
• Gynecare Gynemesh PS Nonabsorbable Polypropylene Mesh.

About the class action:

• Shine Lawyers filed two class actions against Ethicon Sarl, Ethicon Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd (the respondents) on behalf of Australian women who suffered complications after receiving one or more Gynecare prolapse mesh and incontinence tape implants.
• The trial in the first class action began in the Federal Court in Sydney on 4 July 2017, and concluded in February 2018. Judgment was handed down in the applicants’ favor in November 2019. The decision was appealed by the respondents and the Full Court of the Federal Court dismissed the appeal on Friday 5 March, 2021. On 5 November 2021 the High Court dismissed the respondents’ application for special leave to appeal.
• In April 2021, Shine Lawyers filed a second class action against the respondents in the Federal Court on behalf of women implanted with one or more of the Gynecare prolapse mesh and incontinence tape implants from July 2017 to include those women who had not been eligible to join the first class action which was filed in 2012.
• Shine Lawyers funded these two actions.

J&J has faced similar lawsuits in the US, Europe and Canada, Reuters reported.

Earlier this year, a California court ordered the pharmaceutical company to pay $302m for concealing the risks of Ethicon’s pelvic mesh products.

The U.S. Main Three Drug Distributors, J&J Included, to Pay Opioid Claims to the Native American Tribes 

Johnson & Johnson was among the drug distributors involved in another resounding settlement recently.

The U.S. three key drug distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson have settled up to $665 million opioid claims with Native American tribes who considered themselves harmed by continuous exposure to highly addictive painkillers, the Washington Post reported.

According to the deal, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen would pay $515 million over seven years and Johnson & Johnson would contribute $150 million in two years to the federally recognized tribes, resolving litigation in dozens of states with tribal reservations.

More than 400 Native American tribes reached a $590-million settlement with Johnson & Johnson and three other drug distributors, according to court documents filed, on February 1st, in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland. The settlement with distributors includes $75 million they agreed in September 2021 to pay the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

Purdue Pharma – A $6 Billion Settlement Last March

Another resounding settlement is that involving Purdue Pharma and OxyContin, a highly addictive prescription pain medication and opioid. The privately-owned pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma is currently facing condemnation for its role in the administration of this dangerous drug. A settlement was reached in March 2022, totaling $6 billion. The settlement has prompted several state attorney generals to abandon lawsuits they had in place against the owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family. Dropping the lawsuits was in exchange for an increase in personal holdings payments from the company.