Products Liability Law Reporter

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a patient’s products liability lawsuit against the manufacturers of the TVT transvaginal mesh device was time-barred under the Tennessee Products Liability Act of 1978 (TPLA), Tenn. Code Ann. §29-28-101 et seq.

Leslie Clabo, who suffered from pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, underwent surgery in 2003 to implant a TVT transvaginal mesh sling device. Three years later, in 2006, she experienced discomfort, pelvic pain, urinary issues, and pain during sexual intercourse and was told that the mesh had eroded through her vaginal canal. Clabo underwent surgery to remove the TVT implant and had surgery to implant another mesh sling a month later. In 2011, she required another surgery to address mesh erosion. The following year, she learned that the TVT mesh product was the probable cause of her continued pain.

In 2013, Clabo sued manufacturers Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc., and Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., alleging products liability claims under the TPLA. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff’s claims were barred by the state’s statute of repose, which precludes products liability claims filed more than six years after the date of injury giving rise to the lawsuit. The district court granted the motion and held that the plaintiff’s initial injury had occurred in 2006.

Affirming, the Sixth Circuit held that under the TPLA, the term “injury” is undefined. Citing the word’s plain meaning, the court said that injury is any harm, loss, or damage to another. Moreover, the court said, the date of injury in the products liability context refers to when an individual is first physically affected by a particular defect in a product. Applying these principles, the court found that the plaintiff’s injury occurred as early as 2006. The plaintiff’s own testimony reveals that in 2006, she realized she felt exposed tape from the mesh device and admitted that her partner had been scratched during sexual intercourse with her that year. Also that year, the court said, the plaintiff learned the mesh had begun to erode, necessitating surgery.

Thus, the court concluded that the plaintiff’s initial complaint, filed in 2013, was time-barred under the state’s six-year statute of repose. Consequently, the district court’s ruling was proper.

Citation: Clabo v. Johnson & Johnson Health Care Sys., Inc., 2020 WL 7331496 (6th Cir. Dec. 14, 2020).