Yaz Lawsuits On the Rise Despite Continued Use

Although the controversial birth control brand Yaz is still on the market and remains a popular contraceptive choice for women, especially teenagers, the lawsuits mounting against it related to some of the serious side effects women have experienced continue to grow in number. There are currently 6,151 Yaz lawsuits in the federal multidistrict litigation – with a total of 7,488 plaintiffs.
The massive number of Yaz plaintiffs is leading people to wonder how much the drugmaker Bayer will have to pay out in legal fees, jury verdicts, and out-of-court settlements. The popular oral contraceptive netted the company almost 800 million dollars in revenue in 2006 alone, and this substantial sum could translate into a healthy payoff for plaintiffs. Plaintiffs are seeking restitution to help cover medical costs and costs of suffering, wages lost, diminished quality of life, and other expenses related to Yaz side effects.
Side effects of the birth control pill, which is a fourth-generation medication containing the synthetic hormone drospirenone, include deep vein thrombosis, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, stroke, and gallbladder disease, along with blood clot problems. Although the product was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006, later tests have shown that women who take Yaz are six times as likely to develop problems related to blood clots than women who rely on other kinds of oral contraceptives.
Bayer was warned by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008 that commercials they had been running to promote Yaz were inaccurate and misleading. According to the FDA, the commercials overstated the effectiveness of the drug and glossed over serious side effects and risks associated with the pill. These commercials, aimed at consumers, misled many girls and women about the birth control by advertising it as not only an effective birth control but also as a treatment for acne and severe PMS. It was approved for neither of these uses by the FDA.
Although it is not yet known how many Yaz lawsuits will be filed in all, the number is growing rapidly and does not show any signs of slowing down.