MASSDEVICE ON CALL — This year promises to be a big one for medical device legal battles, as bellwether trials for several high-profile device disputes are slated for later in 2013.
A pair of bellwether trials against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics’ metal-on-metal hip implants are set take place in September and October, setting the framework for the ongoing litigation in New Jersey.
The lawsuits against DePuy allege that the company was aware of complications arising from its ASR metal-on-metal hip implants, but failed to warn physicians.
Courts in West Virgina are slated to begin hearing cases against makers of transvaginal mesh implants are to begin in February, starting with a lawsuit against C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR).
Bard already lost 1 lawsuit over the mesh products when a jury in July decided against the device maker, awarding patient and plaintiff Christine Scott $5 million for her injuries and her husband $500,000 for the damage to their love life.
The jury decision may bode ill for Bard and others in the midst of similar lawsuits against their mesh devices, including Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings (NSDQ:ENDP) and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX).
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