The pharmaceutical giant was ordered to pay close to $2.6 million in damages after being found guilty of negligence in the federal court earlier this week.
The lawyer acting on behalf of the women, Jan Saddler, told media that her clients are happy with the ruling, although thousands of others who experienced side effects are still waiting for justice.
“Today is a significant step forward but there is still a way to go until all Australian women affected by these products receive compensation,” she said. “We’re pleased with the result and encouraged by the compensation for the three lead applicants ordered today.”
The company pitched the device as a safe way to reinforce the pelvic floor and treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapses. Instead, it left users in acute pain – especially during sex – and in some cases, severely damaged the surrounding organs.
When announcing her decision last year, Justice Katzmann slammed the company for concealing the extent of the complications and taking the products to market without sufficient clinical trials.
“For the most part, these reports could scarcely be described as evaluations at all, let alone critical analyses,” she said.
In total, 1350 women have registered for the class action. It’s expected that more than 8,000 women have suffered because of the implants.
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