A federal judge recently reduced a $35 million pelvic mesh jury award which was awarded to a woman who allegedly experienced injury as a side effect of her implanted pelvic mesh.

In March, plaintiff Barbara K. was granted a $35 million pelvic mesh jury award as compensation for her injuries related to a Johnson & Johnson pelvic mesh product. On Aug.t 8, U.S. District Judge Phillip P. Simon reduced the $35 million pelvic mesh jury award by $15 million, finding that the awarded punitive damages were excessive, according to Law360.

The original pelvic mesh jury award consisted of $10 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. In response to this jury award, Johnson & Johnson motioned for a judgment as a matter of law and a new trial. However, Judge Simon began his ruling by denying both of these motions, stating that the court had seen “sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find in favor of [Barbara].”

Judge Simon also denied Johnson & Johnson’s request to reduce compensatory damages, finding that the $10 million award “was neither monstrously excessive nor the product of passion or prejudice.” Under this reasoning, he allowed the compensatory damages portion of the pelvic mesh jury award to stay intact.

“The jury’s punitive damage award, however, is another story,” Judge Simon wrote. “I find the punitive damages award excessive and unreasonable under controlling law.”

In his ruling, Judge Simon found that $25 in punitive damages was excessive and proposed a more “reasonable” punitive damages award of $10 million. Barbara now has the choice to accept the $15 million reduction of her pelvic mesh jury award or face another trial.

“[Barbara] now faces a choice: she can either accept a reduced punitive damage award (and thus be awarded $20 million dollars in total compared to the original $35 million awarded by the jury) or I will order a new trial on the issue of punitive damages,” Judge Simon stated in his ruling.

Barbara originally filed that lawsuit in 2012, alleging that she suffered from vaginal pain, pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, bladder spasms, and bowel issues due to her implantation with an allegedly defective pelvic mesh.

Barbara was implanted with the Johnson & Johnson Prolift mesh in 2009 to treat her pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when one or more pelvic organs drop to a lower position than is normal. After experiencing problems with the Prolift mesh, she underwent a second surgery to have as much of the mesh removed as possible.

“There was evidence that once the mesh is implanted it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to have it all removed; it grows into the tissue, hardens and causes substantial pain,” Judge Simon noted in his ruling.

In her lawsuit and subsequent trial, Barbara claimed that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately test their Prolift mesh product, resulting in the injuries of her and countless other individuals.

The Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-00114 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.