A New Jersey jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.94%) to pay punitive damages of $7.76 million to a former nurse who blames its vaginal mesh implant for years of severe pain despite 18 unsuccessful repair surgeries.
A spokesman for the plaintiff's lawyers said the award adds to $3.35 million in compensatory damages awarded by the state Superior Court jury earlier this week.
It's the first verdict in about 4,000 lawsuits filed against the giant health products maker based in New Brunswick, N.J.
Johnson & Johnson says the decision isn't supported by the evidence and the company plans to appeal.
At least one plaintiff has won a lawsuit against one of the other 30-plus makers of the once-popular implants, used to lift sagging pelvic organs back into place.
