When a product allegedly turns out to be defective and harmful and it inherently has the potential to inflict serious damage on consumers who use it, the situation can quickly progress to the point of massive legal fallout. When people think of products that have injured thousands of people over the years, many will also remember the price that the manufacturers of those products paid in terms of legal fees, judgments, settlements and of course in damage to their brands. Perhaps the identity of those products is changing, but the process remains largely the same.
Despite all of the movies and books that have been filmed and written about famous legal situations that led to enormous lawsuits involving thousands of people, many of these situations in the past began in a litigation sense with only a few or even one individual plaintiff bringing his or her case to court against that manufacturer. If that initial claim proved to be successful, many times that result is what led to enormous class action lawsuits as trial attorneys began to see how some of these claims would actually play out in a courtroom setting and proceeded with a higher level of knowledge.
That could be what’s about to happen with regards to a lawsuit against C.R. Bard, Inc. The lawsuit was filed by an individual woman who used the Avaulta transvaginal mesh product and who was allegedly seriously injured as a result of trusting it. This lawsuit, which was originally scheduled to begin on December 3, has since been rescheduled and will instead begin on January 10, 2014. The case is already being called a ‘bellwether’ claim with regards to this issue. This individual claim is believed to be the second of four bellwether cases to get started. The first one last summer reportedly led to a damages award of approximately $2 million for that individual plaintiff.
Trial lawyers will be watching this case closely to see how the jury reacts to the arguments that are made and the evidence that is presented. They will also be watching to see what type of strategy is employed by the defense, which will obviously be comprised of highly skilled attorneys in their own right. The case could provide a roadmap of what plaintiffs need to do in the future, or it could also provide an example of what should not be done depending on how the case progresses.
This is critically important because approximately 5,700 other people have made claims against C.R. Bard, Inc. If this lawsuit also leads to a multi-million-dollar damages award, it could prompt the defendant to take steps to avoid facing this result for the vast majority of remaining claims. The thousands of people who have allegedly been injured by this product also need to take steps to evaluate their own legal options if they have not done so already. If this includes you or someone you love, contact the transvaginal mesh lawyers at Parilman & Associates today to schedule a free initial consultation.
