Ethicon, J&J Awarded Summary Judgment in Calif. TVT Pelvic Mesh Device Case

SACRAMENTO — A California federal judge has awarded Ethicon summary judgment in a pelvic mesh action, ruling that the learned intermediary doctrine defeats the failure-to-warn claims because the plaintiffs did not show that their doctor would have changed his prescribing decision had he been presented with a different warning.

In a Jan. 23 order, Judge Troy L. Nunley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California also ruled that the design defect claim fails because plaintiffs’ sole expert, Dr. Bruce Patsner, failed to connect any of plaintiffs’ injuries to the device itself.

Michelle Klinker was implanted with …