Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy successful in a two-week binding arbitration proceeding.
May 2014
James M. Campbell and Kathleen Guilfoyle of Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy, in conjunction with Ellis & Winters, successfully represented Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon in a two-week binding arbitration proceeding.
15 plaintiffs from across the country and Australia filed products liability claims involving the use of long-term dissolvable sutures in a variety of complicated and risky surgical procedures. The plaintiffs alleged that the dissolvable sutures caused foreign body reactions, resulting in prolonged wound healing complications. The plaintiffs submitted to binding arbitration, and the arbitrator was tasked with determining specific causation and damages.
Through the use of sophisticated audio visual technology, the defense team was able to parse through and identify the most compelling fact and expert deposition testimony and present the most persuasive medical documents to the arbitrator in a cohesive media presentation. The defense team argued that the wound healing complications were more likely the result of pre-existing risk factors inherent in each of the plaintiffs, and that the plaintiffs failed to meet the burden of establishing specific causation.
Retired Judge James Robertson, Arbitrator rendered his decisions within two weeks of the end of arbitration. The decisions as a whole resulted in millions of dollars in savings from potential judgments for Johnson and Johnson and Ethicon.
