Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a $2 million verdict in Cisson v. C.R. Bard in favor of a plaintiff who had to undergo painful revision surgery due to a faulty transvaginal mesh implant.
Unfortunately, a significant portion of that damage award will go straight to the state of Georgia, and not to the plaintiff. The reason has to do with the fact that state has a provision entitling taxpayers to 75 percent of whatever is recovered through punitive damages. In this case, $1.75 million of the damage award was for punitive damages, while $250,000 was for compensatory damages.
(Punitive damages are those which are intended to punish the defendant, while compensatory damages are intended to compensate the victim for actual losses.) Continue reading ›
