In a verdict reached today, a Rhode Island jury found Davol and C.R. Bard liable for injuries caused by their Ventralex polypropolene hernia mesh product. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $4.8 million to plaintiff Paul Trevino.
Katherine E. Charonko, Brian McAllister, and Elizabeth Stryker from Bailey & Glasser, LLP along with the trial team at Motley Rice, LLC which included Jonathan Orent and Fred Thompson, tried the case to verdict over the course of the past 5 weeks.
Plaintiffs in hernia mesh cases argue the devices have left them injured and with side effects ranging from chronic pain to infections to nerve damage, and that companies like Davol and Bard allegedly sold the devices despite knowledge of their risk to patients. Plaintiff’s counsel argued during closing: “4000 people hurt severely by this device in the last 3 years alone. 25 percent, one in four people that were implanted with this device had another surgery to take it out. . . . That’s what the evidence in this case is. Trust your eyes. Use your judgment. Use your common sense.”