HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National pharmaceutical litigation firm Blizzard & Nabers, along with co-counsel Tom Pirtle, won a landmark $4.4 million dollar jury verdict against Mentor Worldwide, LLC, a division of Johnson & Johnson, this week. The firm is proud to have successfully represented its client in Teresa Taylor v. Mentor Worldwide, LLC, Case No. 4:12-CV-176 (CDL), In The United States District Court For The Middle District Of Georgia, Columbus Division.
The jury found that the ObTape Sling product was defective and caused the plaintiff serious harm. This product falls under the umbrella of the now infamous category of medical devices known as transvaginal mesh. Transvaginal mesh was designed to improve corrective surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. The FDA has since issued a warning that not only is transvaginal mesh ineffective at improving the surgical odds of success, but that it can degrade and cause significant additional damage.
The ObTape vaginal sling was implanted in approximately 35,000 women between 2003 and 2006 and was designed to prevent involuntary bladder leakage caused by weak pelvic muscles. As a result of a defective design that contains a nonwoven surgical mesh, the ObTape vaginal sling has been associated with a number of severe and debilitating injuries, including vaginal extrusions, urinary tract erosions and infections. Within three years of the product being introduced into the marketplace, the defective medical device was removed from the market.
The firm’s founding partner, Ed Blizzard, has over 30 years of legal experience. He is one of only a select few Texas trial lawyers to become Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He devotes his time to both pharmaceutical and medical device litigation and has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America multiple times. He has also been named a member of both the Million Dollar Advocates and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums, named to the Litigation Counsel of America, a position only appointed through invitation, as well as to the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been named as a Texas Super Lawyer in 2004 and 2008 through 2015.
Ed Blizzard and the litigation team of Blizzard & Nabers have handled thousands of mass tort claims across the country. Many coordinated litigation leadership teams and judges have trusted Mr. Blizzard to lead various product liability litigations. He and his firm’s lawyers have served in multiple national litigation leadership positions. Some of his most notable appointments include:
- Appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, MDL No. 2342, In Re: Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Products Liability Litigation; in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, by the Hon. Judge Cynthia M. Rufe.
- Appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, MDL No. 2187, In Re: C.R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, by the Hon. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
- Appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, MDL Docket No. 1:10 md 2197, In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products; in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, by the Hon. Judge David A. Katz.
- Appointed to the 5-member Committee to negotiate $1.2 billion settlement in MDL 1401, In Re: Sulzer Orthopedics Inc. Hip Prosthesis and Knee Prosthesis Liability, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, by the Hon. Judge Kathleen O’Malley.
- Appointed to the 6-member Negotiation Plaintiff’s Committee and the 9-person Fee Allocation Committee, MDL 1657, In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, by the Hon. Judge Fallon.
- Chair of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, MDL 1598, In Re: Ephedra Products Liability Litigation, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- Member of the Texas State Court Steering Committee, Silicone Breast Implant Litigation.
- Steering Committee Member, MDL 1203, In Re: Diet Drugs (Phentermine, Fenfluramine, Dexfenfluramine) Products Liability Litigation, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
- Served as Liaison Counsel, Paxil Mass Tort Program in Philadelphia, PA.
- Appointed to Plaintiffs Steering Committee, MDL 1968, In Re: Digitek Products Liability Litigation, United States District Court Southern District of West Virginia, by the Hon. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
For more information about Blizzard & Nabers, please visit the firm’s website and connect on Facebook and Twitter.
