Brett L. Myers was featured in the Law360 article "Texas Pelvic Mesh Ruling Could Make Plaintiffs Think Twice." Full text can be found in the November 9, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.
A $1.2 million judgment has been overturned by a Texas appellate court against Johnson & Johnson because the plaintiff failed to prove that the company's medical device was the cause of her injuries. This may lead to "fewer cases and less vulnerable settlements" in similar suits.
The appellate court applied "clear Texas precedent" which is common law in the state requiring a plaintiff in a strict liability design defect case to prove both defective conditions of a product and causal connection between the product defect and the injuries received as a result of it's use.
According to Brett Myers, "If the perception is that it's going to be more difficult because there's now an added element of causation, it could have a dampening effect on plaintiffs who want to bring these kinds of claims."
Myers said plaintiffs' lawyers could be more selective in these types of cases "because they know they're going to be facing a causation fight in every case."
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