Ethicon, J&J Awarded Summary Judgment in Idaho Federal Hernia Repair Mesh Action

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho federal judge has awarded Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson summary judgment in a case targeting their hernia repair mesh, finding the plaintiffs failed to prove that the product caused the plaintiff to suffer a bowel obstruction.

In a Dec. 16 order, Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho found the plaintiffs’ claims required expert testimony that defendants’ Proceed Surgical Mesh is defective, and that plaintiffs failed to present such testimony.

Ronald Grunig underwent a ventral hernia repair procedure, during in October 2010, his surgeon, Dr. Richard Ballantyne, implanted …