Thousands of Yaz Gallbladder Lawsuits Filed

Among the more than 4,000 Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits that have already been filed in both federal and state courts throughout the country, more than 1,500 of these contain allegations of gallbladder disease stemming from use of these birth control pills.
So-called, “fourth generation” oral contraceptives, both Yasmin and Yaz include a contentious synthetic form of progestin named drospirenone. This hormone has been found to produce both gallstones (cholelithiasis) and inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) as side effects.
Physicians haven’t yet been able to precisely determine just how gallbladder disease arises from Yaz or Yasmin consumption, but one strong theory is that drospirenone causes dehydration that leads, in turn, to gallbladder disease.
Some of the more recent lawsuits involve claims that drospirenone prevents the uptake of the hormone aldosterone by the kidneys, which makes the gallbladder more susceptible to forming infection or disease-causing gallstones. Many victims of Yaz gallbladder disease are compelled to have their gallbladders removed via cholecystectomy.

Yasmin Gallbladder Disease Lawsuits Under Multidistrict Litigation

In the Southern District of Illinois, U.S. District Judge David Herndon has been placed in control of the 4,000-plus Yaz lawsuits that have been consolidated under multidistrict litigation. Upon analysis of the claims, it has been found that 43 percent of them contain claims of Yaz gallbladder issues. A further 41 percent of the Yaz lawsuit allegations involve serious injuries caused by blood clots, for example pulmonary embolism. Ten percent of the lawsuits make allegations of stroke and heart attack provoked by Yaz use.
In January 2012, the first Yaz gallbladder lawsuit will go to trial. The conclusion reached by this first trial will greatly affect the hundreds of victims who have filed lawsuits involving similar allegations.

Yaz Gallbladder Disease Lawsuits Grow In Number

Not a week goes by without more Yaz gallbladder disease lawsuits being filed. Recently, at the end of January 2011, Amie Nardone of New Jersey filed a Yaz gallbladder disease lawsuit. Another victim, Lana Speck of Galveston Texas, also filed a lawsuit involving Yaz gallbladder disease on January 31. Speck alleges that taking Yaz lead directly to the required removal of her gallbladder, and that she currently experiences severe abdominal pain and chronic indigestion because of this.
In 2008, Bayer Corporation (the maker of Yaz) received almost $1 billion in revenue from Yaz and Yasmin sales. That same year it was estimated that Yaz and Yasmin made up 30 percent of the total birth control pill sales in the United States. There have been repeated requests for a Yaz recall, with no results thus far.