News Summary: Jury awards $3.35 M in implant suit

BIG VERDICT: A New Jersey jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay compensatory damages of $3.35 million to a former nurse who blames its vaginal mesh implant for years of severe pain despite 18 unsuccessful repair surgeries.

COMPANY COMMENT: J&J says there's always risk in surgery to lift drooping pelvic organs. It plans to present more evidence when the jury on Tuesday begins considering punitive damages. It's stopped selling the implant.

THE BACKDROP: Dozens of companies made the mesh implants, once touted as safer than traditional surgery, and thousands of women are suing over pain, infections and other complications.