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Ethicon Accused of Destroying Important Documents Related to Federal Cases, Gynecare Prolift Mesh Lawsuit Center Reports

Written by Long Island News & PR  |  03. December 2013

New York, NY - December 3rd, 2013 - Plaintiffs in the Johnson & Johnson Ethicon consolidation of vaginal mesh lawsuits in federal court have accused J&J of either losing or destroying key documents, according to court documents. The Gynecare Prolift Mesh Lawsuit Center, which features vaginal mesh lawsuit information, offers insight into why missing documents can be problematic, and why plaintiffs would file such a motion.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys filed the motion on Dec. 2, alleging that Ethicon “has lost or destroyed at least tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of documents that likely contain information relevant to [p]laintiffs’ claims,” according to court documents (In re: Ethicon Inc., Pelvis Repair System Products Liability Litigation; MDL-2327, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.) The plaintiffs’ counsel is asking for the following:

1. Granting default judgments to plaintiff Carolyn Lewis, as well as the plaintiffs in the first Prolift bellwether trial;
2. A declaration that the court will issue a “spoliation instruction” to the jury at every  bellwether trial;
3. Striking Ethicon’s learned intermediary defense for every trial;
4. Striking any statute-of-limitations defenses for every trial; and
5. Charging Ethicon for the plaintiffs’ reasonable costs and attorney’s fees associated with the
motion.

The Gynecare Prolift Mesh Lawsuit Center notes that during the discovery portion of pretrial proceedings, each party is required to produce all relevant information requested by the other. If the allegations against Ethicon are true, then it can have an adverse effect on the plaintiffs’ ability to receive compensation for harms suffered because the burden of proof is on the plaintiffs.

Several major vaginal mesh manufacturers who are defendants in federal case consolidations are reportedly in talks to settle vaginal mesh lawsuits. C.R. Bard, AMS, Coloplast, Cook Medical and Boston Scientific are said to be the companies involved, according to Bloomberg. Ethicon, however, is reportedly not a party.

The Gynecare Prolift Mesh Lawsuit Center encourages those who believe their vaginal mesh implants have harmed them to visit the Center’s TVM page to learn more about vaginal mesh settlements and lawsuits, and to apply for a free case review.

Women are filing transvaginal mesh lawsuits alleging they suffered injuries from serious adverse side effects such as pain, discomfort and the erosion of the mesh implant, according to court documents.

About the Gynecare Prolift Mesh Lawsuit Center
The Gynecare Prolift Mesh Lawsuit Center, sponsored by the Rottenstein Law Group LLP, offers up-to-date news and information about vaginal mesh lawsuits and side effects. (Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)

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