Johnson & Johnson seeks to remove case to district court over woman’s personal injury lawsuit

A manufacturer of medical products filed a notice of removal in a patient’s lawsuit claiming she suffered damage to her vaginal lining and significant pain because of a faulty mesh product.

Defendant Johnson & Johnson filed the notice of removal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis on Sept. 25.

The notice, filed through attorney Richard K. Hunsaker of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen in Edwardsville, claims removal is proper because of diversity of citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.

Because Truex seeks a judgment of more than $150,000, the requirements for amount in controversy are met.

Hunsaker also claims the suit meets the requirements for diversity of citizenship because the plaintiff is a citizen of Texas, Johnson & Johnson is a citizen on New Jersey and Defendant Boston Scientific Corporation is a citizen of Delaware and Massachusetts.

According to the complaint filed Aug. 7, Maria Truex alleges doctors inserted an Obtruator TVT mesh Gynecare and Xenoform into her during a surgical procedure on Aug. 10, 2009. Defendants Johnson and Johnson and Boston Scientific manufactured the products; however, the mesh failed to function properly, the suit claims.

Truex claims the mesh allows for bacteria, fungus and yeast to adhere to it after it has been inserted into the uterus, which can cause immune reactions, extreme pain and the breakdown of the tissue.

The defendants have heavily promoted the product and misrepresented its hazards despite its tendency to cause pain and health risks, the suit states.

The mesh has a history of contracting once inside a woman’s body, resulting in taut sections of mesh causing extreme pain. Some women are required to undergo additional surgical procedures to repair the damage the mesh can allegedly cause, according to the complaint.

John J. Driscoll of The Driscoll Firm in St. Louis represents Truex.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 13-L-410