Ethicon, J&J Say Plaintiffs Failed to Provide Evidentiary Support for Claims in TVM Bellwether Case

CHARLOTTE, W. Va. — At the close of evidence in the first federal transvaginal mesh case to go to trial, Ethicon Inc. renewed its motion for judgment as a matter of law on the plaintiffs’ claims of failure to warn and design defect, arguing that the warnings accompanying the Gynecare TVT Obturator were adequate and the risks did not outweigh the device's utility.

In their Sept. 4 motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Ethicon and its parent Johnson & Johnson contend the plaintiff’s surgeon testified that an enhanced warning would not have …