A stinging, $100 million verdict yesterday against Boston Scientific Corp. in a case involving inserts it makes to treat incontinence in women is unlikely to cause lasting damage to the state’s largest medical device company, but could force it to consider settling thousands of other product-liability lawsuits, according to one analyst.
“From a headline perspective, $100 million is a big number,” said Vijay Kumar, an analyst at Evercore ISI in New York. “It might make Boston Scientific rethink its litigation strategy. It might force the company to think about settling more of these claims.”
The verdict — the largest to date over Boston Scientific’s transvaginal mesh inserts — awarded Deborah Barba of Delaware $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages.
A Delaware jury found that the Marlboro company’s Pinnacle and Advantage Fit inserts were defectively designed, leaving Barba with a host of medical problems, and that company executives hid the flaws.
“The punitive damages the jury awarded in this verdict speak very boldly for themselves,” said Fred Thompson, one of the 52-year-old former bank teller’s attorneys. “With all the evidence we presented, the jury chose the damages according to the irresponsible behavior it thought Boston Scientific demonstrated. We are pleased that Boston Scientific may finally be receiving the message about the dangers of its transvaginal mesh where it hurts most: its wallet.”
In an email yesterday, Kelly Leadem, a company spokeswoman, said: “At Boston Scientific, patient safety is of the utmost importance, and we dedicate significant resources to deliver safe, high-quality products. We strongly disagree with the jury’s finding and intend to appeal based on the strength of our ?evidence.”
Last month, Boston Scientific cited legal expenses and currency-rate fluctuations as it reported a first-quarter loss and cut its sales outlook for the year. The company also said it was settling 2,970 product-liability lawsuits at a cost of ?$119 million.
In all, more than 24,000 suits and claims have been filed by women who have said that Boston Scientific’s transvaginal mesh products caused pain or internal damage.
Shares of the company closed yesterday at $18.27, up 28 cents, or 1.56 percent.
