Multiple women with debilitating pelvic mesh injuries have given tearful testimony about an ongoing lack of transparency into how their wait for justice can finally come to an end.
It's been more than three years since thousands of women were awarded a $405 million class action settlement for injuries sustained from implanted pelvic mesh, but many have received nothing more than an interim payment averaging just $4000.
Meant to assist women with prolapses and leakage, the makers Johnson & Johnson's vaginal mesh products routinely caused chronic pain, incontinence and pain during sexual intercourse.
About 18,000 women received the relevant products from the early 1990s to 2017.
Many affected by crippling physical and mental injuries attended the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday to tell Justice Michael Lee and the administrators of their urgent need for more clarity on the settlement process.
"We really need the court's help here," Lesley Boiteux told Justice Lee.
"There has not been any regular communication from the legal team as to where things are up to."
Hundreds of women have requested reviews of their individual assessment after they were deemed ineligible for larger payouts by the administrators of the settlement, JGA Saddler, Slater and Gordon, and BDO.
But some of the sluggishness of the review process was attributed to claims for compensation coming from women ineligible for the class action.
"There is a cohort of people who will continue to cause a lot of angst because they will continue to make complaints that are unfounded," Justice Lee said.
"People with valid claims bear the ultimate cost."
After speaking with the administrators' barrister Guy Donnellan, Justice Lee opened the floor to any victims wishing to share their stories.
Harrowing accounts of physical injury, psychological distress, relationship breakdown and financial ruin were shared by about a dozen women.
Many had travelled interstate to be in the courtroom including one woman who had travelled from Norfolk Island to share her story with the court.
Others shared shocking testimony including continuing to require the use of a catheter six times a day, costing more than $50,000, and perforated organs resulting from the defective implants.
Tracey Singleton, who runs a support group for women affected by the mesh, told the court she had evidence of multiple privacy breaches where medical records were sent to the wrong people by the administrators.
"Some assessments may have been completed without relevant medical evidence being considered," she said.
Justice Lee said he would order the administrators to send communication to all claimants updating them with the progression of the settlement.
"I'm very grateful for you and everyone who's come and said things to me ... it's important to understand the human nature of the problem," Justice Lee said.
He directed all those present in court who wanted to raise matters directly with the administrators to meet them in a room in the court after the hearing to have their concerns heard face to face.
About 150 cases were still being considered for review, Mr Donnellan said.
While acknowledging the speed of the compensation being delivered was less than ideal, Justice Lee urged the women to continue to have faith in the review process.
It was hoped the whole scheme would be completed by the end of June 2027, Justice Lee said.
The case was launched in 2018, culminating in a landmark decision in 2019 that Johnson & Johnson implants were defective, misleadingly marketed and the pharma giant was liable for the injuries caused.
The class action settlements followed shortly after the High Court declined to overturn the liability findings.
