Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit News: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Notes Request for DOJ Investigation of Destroyed Ethicon Files
New York, New York (PRWEB) March 28, 2014 -- One month after a federal magistrate judge found that Ethicon Inc. negligently destroyed files relevant to thousands of transvaginal mesh lawsuits (http://www.transvaginalmeshlawsuithelp.com/) pending in the multidistrict litigation underway in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that a consumer group has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to look into the matter. According to a report from The Associated Press, the Corporate Action Network has written to Attorney General Eric Holder asking that the department investigate Ethicon and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, to determine whether the destruction rose to the level of crimes, including obstructing justice and destroying records in a federal probe. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the request is being reviewed.* (In re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2327)
“We are representing numerous women who allegedly suffered serious vaginal mesh complications due to devices manufactured by Ethicon. Our Firm is monitoring this matter very closely,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm continues to evaluate legal claims on behalf of women who suffered serious transvaginal mesh complications, allegedly due to products marketed by Ethicon and other manufacturers.
Ethicon Vaginal Mesh Lawsuits
According to court documents, more than 17,000 transvaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed against Ethicon in the Southern District of West Virginia. Bernstein Liebhard LLP partner, Jeffrey S. Grand, is serving on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the federal Ethicon litigation.
In an Order dated February 4, 2014, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert concluded that Ethicon had destroyed thousands of documents regarding development of its pelvic mesh implants but said there was no proof that was done intentionally. However, Judge Eifert also wrote that jurors in Ethicon vaginal mesh lawsuits should be able to hear about the document destruction. U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, who is overseeing the federal proceeding, will make the final ruling on that matter.
According to court records, Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson are also facing nearly 4,700 transvaginal mesh lawsuits that have been filed in a consolidated proceeding underway in New Jersey’s Atlantic County Superior Court, where the first trial ended in March 2013 with an award of $11 million to the Plaintiff. Mr. Grand is serving as Co-Liaison Counsel in this proceeding, and was also a member of that trial team. (In re: Pelvic Mesh/Gynecare Litigation, No. 6341-10)
The federal Ethicon litigation is one of several currently underway in the Southern District of West Virginia involving pelvic mesh devices used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Mr. Grand is also serving on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees for three other federal vaginal mesh proceedings, including: American Medical Systems, Inc. (MDL No. 2325); Boston Scientific Corp., (MDL No. 2326); and C.R. Bard, Inc., (MDL No. 2187). He was also named Co-Liaison Counsel in a second litigation underway in Atlantic County Superior Court for lawsuits involving C.R. Bard products. (In re: Pelvic Mesh Litigation/Bard, No. L-6339-10)
Women who have allegedly been harmed by pelvic mesh products used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer of the device. To learn more about the litigation involving transvaginal mesh lawsuits, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or the Firm's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/meshlawsuit. To obtain a free, confidential and no-obligation case review, please call 800-511-5092.
*hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JOHNSON__JOHNSON_DOCUMENT_DESTRUCTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT, Associated Press, March 26, 2014
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since the list was first published in 2003.
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Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info(at)consumerinjurylawyers(dot)com
http://www.transvaginalmeshlawsuithelp.com/
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Felecia L. Stern, Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Help Center, http://www.transvaginalmeshlawsuithelp.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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