Boston, MA 10/06/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) could derive some solace from a District Court order. The court has slashed the punitive damages to less than half in the case filed by women on the company’s vaginal mesh implants.
Reduced Damages
In the third trial heard on the company’s product, a Texas Judge reduced punitive damages to $34.6 million from $73 million. The judge cited a cap under the State laws on the amount of damages, Reuters reported.
There are over 23,000 lawsuits being faced by Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) before the court on its vaginal mesh implants. Women charged the implants of eroding within the body and that the company was aware of its defectiveness and the injury it could cause. As a result, organs had the potential to get damaged and also pain. They have also charged that this might need surgery to remove the devices from the body.
Dallas Court Judge, Ken Molberg, reduced the damages to more than $11.0 million. He pointed out the laws of Texas that limited damages to not more than two times of economic losses of a plaintiff besides a maximum of $750,000 in non-economic losses.
Earlier Order
Only last month, the court in Dallas found the company liable for selling a faulty Obtryx sling, which was implanted in Martha Salazar, a plaintiff, to treat urinary leakage. The court’s judge ordered Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) to pay about $23 million as compensatory damages for genuine suffering besides $50 million as punitive damages following the finding that the company was grossly negligent. After the verdict, the company indicated that it preferred filing an appeal.
There are also pending cases. These were consolidated and presented to West Virginia single judge. Therefore, additional trials would schedule to start in November. The company was one among the seven medical device manufacturers to face a number of claims over similar products. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and C.R.Bard, Inc. (NYSE:BCR) were also defendants in the case.
