(Reuters) — Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) today said it reached its 1st settlement agreement to resolve a portion of the legal claims it faces involving its transvaginal mesh products to treat urinary incontinence.
The medical device maker, in a regulatory filing, said it expects to pay about $119 million to resolve 2,970 cases.
The Marlborough, Mass.-based company said it faces more than 25,000 mesh claims in total in U.S. federal and state courts. Last November, it lost its 1st 2 federal trials, in West Virginia and Miami.
The new agreement includes a case in the district court of Dallas County, Texas, for which there is a judgment of about $35 million that is subject to appeal, Boston Scientific said.
The agreement doesn’t include an admission of liability or wrongdoing, the company said, adding it will complete payment of settlement funds into an escrow account by Oct. 1. It’s also establishing a procedure for claimants to participate in the settlement.
In the Miami case, Boston Scientific was ordered to pay $26.7 million to 4 women after a federal court jury found the company liable for selling faulty transvaginal mesh devices. Plaintiffs said they suffered pain, bleeding and infection from the company’s Pinnacle device.
In West Virginia, a federal jury returned an $18.5 million verdict against Boston Scientific involving claims of injuries caused by mesh devices.
Boston Scientific has fought back against claims that the devices are defective or were to blame for the women’s complications. It won its 1st 2 mesh trials in Massachusetts state court.
It is 1 of 7 companies, including Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) Ethicon unit and C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR), which have also been hit with thousands of lawsuits over the products.
Boston Scientific shares were down 0.7% at $17.86 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.