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Judge Rules For Company In W. Va. Mesh Lawsuit

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a manufacturer in a lawsuit brought by a Texas woman who claimed her pelvic pain was caused by implanted surgical mesh. U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on Tuesday dismissed Carolyn Lewis' lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon in the middle of a jury trial that began Feb. 10.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled in favor of a manufacturer in a lawsuit brought by a Texas woman who claimed her pelvic pain was caused by implanted surgical mesh.

U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on Tuesday dismissed Carolyn Lewis' lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon in the middle of a jury trial that began Feb. 10.

The 2012 lawsuit alleged that the pelvic mesh has high rates of failure and can shrink, degrade or break off in the body.

Ethicon contends the mesh is safe. Ethicon spokesman Matthew Johnson called Goodwin's ruling a "sound decision."

The lawsuit is among thousands of cases that were transferred to West Virginia as part of federal multidistrict litigation. Goodwin selected the lawsuit and several others to serve as representative cases.

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