Reuters (5/29, Dye) reports that Boston Scientific was ordered by a Delaware court on Thursday to pay $100 million to a woman who claimed injuries from transvaginal mesh devices. Deborah Barba, a 51-year-old resident of Newark, Delaware, had been “implanted with Boston Scientific’s Pinnacle and Advantage Fit mesh products in 2009, to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, according to her 2011 lawsuit,” and caused major complications. Barba received “$25 million in compensatory damages, and an additional $75 million in punitive damages, according to” her attorneys.
Bloomberg News (5/28, Feeley, 3.81M) reports that the ruling was the “first verdict” after Boston Scientific “agreed to begin settling cases over the devices, and the biggest yet.” It “eclips[es] a $73 million award last year to a Texas woman over the company’s Obtryx sling,” and according to Bloomberg data is the eighth-largest jury verdict in the US this year. BSX spokeswoman Kelly Leadem “said the company disputes” the jury’s findings about the safety of the devices. Added Leadem added that Boston Scientific disagrees with the jury’s finding and intends to appeal based on the strength of its evidence.
