Supreme Court justices in New Jersey have refused to overturn an $11 million jury award against Ethicon in a pelvic mesh bellwether lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed by a woman who experienced severe side effects from the company’s pelvic mesh device.

The justices in New Jersey Supreme Court denied a certification petition filed by Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson requesting the review of an Appellate Division’s affirmation of an earlier verdict.

The prior verdict found that the jurors were provided with sufficient evidence that demonstrated plaintiff Linda G.’s doctor may have given Linda different guidance if he had known more information regarding the risks of the pelvic mesh device implanted in her.

An attorney for Linda said that Linda and other plaintiffs in the mass tort against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson are owed “a debt of gratitude” for fighting in the legal battle for more than 10 years.

“This case now establishes certain key legal rulings are binding, which strengthens every case in this litigation,” the attorney said. “We will now look at motions that can be filed to cement the benefits of the decision for thousands of deserving women, including collateral estoppel on the failure to warn verdict.”

In the pelvic mesh bellwether lawsuit in March, a three-judge appellate panel ruled that the guidance that Linda never received from her position may have actually led her to consider a different course of treatment and subsequently avoid the severe injuries she sustained.

Allegations Raised in Pelvic Mesh Bellwether Lawsuit

Linda and her husband sued Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson in 2008 saying that the manufacturers failed to adequately disclose all of the risks associated with its mesh product, Gynecare Prolift.

Linda had the mesh products planted in her to treat the pelvic floor collapse.

Linda’s case served as the pelvic mesh bellwether lawsuit in New Jersey as part of the multidistrict litigation over the pelvic mesh products manufactured by Ethicon.

Ethicon stopped selling their pelvic mesh products in June 2012 even though the company stated it did not believe their products were harmful.

The trial in the pelvic mesh bellwether lawsuit included testimony from a number of Ethicon employees who were questioned about the design of the Pro left pelvic mesh product, as well as the testing and design of the device.

After Linda was implanted with the pelvic mesh product in 2006, she had to have 18 surgeries afterward in order to remove the mesh, the pelvic mesh bellwether lawsuit stated.

Linda suffered from severe nerve pain and had to quit her career as a nurse as a result of the injuries she sustained.

Additionally, she said the pain and injuries she suffered prevented her from having a normal sex life and from enjoying spending time with her family

Linda was initially awarded $3.35 million in compensatory damages and an additional $7.76 million in punitive damages into in February 2013 as a result of the injuries caused by the pelvic mesh product.

Ethicon argued that there was not sufficient evidence to prove the company was liable for Linda’s injuries.

Ethicon had previously asked the judge to issue a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or to order that a new trial be conducted, but the judge denied the company’s requests.

In March, the panel agreed with the judge’s decision and said that based on the testimony supplied by Linda’s doctor, he said he would have counseled her against the procedure or would have spent at least 45 minutes discussing the risk with her if he had known the mesh “should not be implanted in sexually active people.”

The Pelvic Mesh Bellwether Lawsuit is Case No. 077827, in Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey.