Australia’s High Court refused to hear an appeal that Johnson & Johnson sought to overturn a federal court ruling that its subsidiary, Ethicon, had sold defective pelvic mesh implants.
J&J and Shine Lawyers, which led the class action, said the matter would now go back to the Federal Court to set up a process to determine payments to the more than 11,000 claimants in Australia’s biggest product liability class action.
The three lead members of the class action, Kathryn Gill, Diane Dawson and Ann Sanders, will now be eligible to receive the *A$1.276 million ($943,000), A$555,555 and A$757,372 they were awarded, respectively.
That judge found that Ethicon had sold implants to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse without warning women and surgeons about the risks and had rushed the products to market before proper testing.
J&J has faced similar lawsuits on its pelvic mesh products in the United States, Canada and Europe.
*($1 = 1.3526 Australian dollars)