Ethicon, J&J Prevail on Timeliness Grounds in Pa. Federal Hernia Mesh Case

PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania federal judge has awarded Ethicon Inc. summary judgment in a hernia mesh action, ruling that the claims are time-barred because the plaintiff was on notice of the alleged cause of her injuries by December 2008, years before she filed suit.

On Oct. 19, Senior Judge Nora B. Fischer of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania explained that following a July 10, 2008, hernia repair surgery in which defendants’ mesh was used, the plaintiff’s surgeon told her that the meshed failed, requiring him to remove the mesh and insert new mesh in its …