A woman who has filed a pelvic mesh lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon division is expecting positive results for a pelvic mesh verdict.

According to PR Newswire, a jury is now hearing evidence in a trial in Pennsylvania, the fourth one in the state, regarding defective vaginal mesh devices manufactured, distributed and sold by Ethicon.

The plaintiff in this case, a 45-year-old woman, received the Ethicon Gynecare Prolift mesh device because of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. After being implanted with Ethicon’s pelvic mesh, says she has experienced severe, chronic pain and discomfort.

Recently, during opening arguments, the attorney for the Plaintiff claimed that his client was not fully notified of all the risks associated with the device.

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety communication about pelvic mesh devices. The FDA claimed that the number of adverse event reports was above 1,000.

This communication was updated in 2011 to state that since that safety warning was issued, from Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2010, an additional 3,000 adverse event reports were received by the FDA concerning pelvic mesh devices.

Expecting a favorable pelvic mesh verdict, an attorney for a nationwide law firm that represents medical device cases said, “Our firm is representing hundreds of women who allegedly suffered life-changing and debilitating complications following implantation of Prolift and other transvaginal mesh devices.”

The attorney went on to say that they will be closely monitoring this trial as a pelvic mesh verdict could provide insight for future pelvic mesh lawsuits. This law firm investigates the legal claims of women who have suffered pelvic and vaginal mesh problems.

There are 54,000 pelvic mesh lawsuits against Ethicon pending nationwide.

Since 2014, five different juries have awarded plaintiffs $55 million in total. More recently, a pelvic mesh verdict awarded a woman $20 million because of her pain and suffering associated with the Ethicon Gynecare TVT-Secur Implant.

This was the third pelvic mesh case in the state of Pennsylvania. In another Pennyslvania case, the juries’ pelvic mesh verdict awarded $12.5 million and yet another awarded $13.5 million to plaintiffs.

By 2012, the FDA had asked Ethicon as well as 20 other vaginal mesh manufacturers to conduct more research as to the safety of their devices.

Ethicon then stated that they would cease selling certain vaginal mesh devices. These included their Gynecare TVT Secur system, the Gynecare Prosima, the Gynecare Prolift, and the Gynecare Prolift M.

If you or someone you love has been adversely affected by a pelvic mesh device you may be entitled to legal compensation. To determine if you may receive a favorable pelvic mesh verdict, you may benefit from speaking with an attorney who handles pelvic mesh cases.