Lawsuits Progress as Yaz Lawyers Seek MDL

Yaz, Yasmin, and the generic form Ocella is a type of birth control originally developed by Berlex Laboratories that was first approved for use in 2001. In 2006, the drug company, Bayer, acquired Berlex and marketed a more recent version of Yasmin, called YAZ. Ocella is a generic version. Yasmin, Yaz, and Ocella all contain drospirenone, a "fourth generation" progestin. No other birth control pills contain drospirenone. As is common in complex pharmaceutical claims, plaintiffs are seeking to consolidate all Yasmin and Yaz birth control lawsuits in an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation, where the individual cases would be assigned to one judge and handled in a manner similar to how a Yasmin / Yaz class action lawsuit would be managed during pretrial litigation.

Young Woman Dies From Birth Control Side Effects

In one of the latest court battles pitting consumers against a giant drug maker, thousands are alleging Bayer did not provide adequate warnings associated with Yaz, a birth control pills containing drospirenone, and they are blaming the drug for causing Yaz blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and, in some cases, sudden deaths. Drospirenone impacts the body’s normal mechanism of regulating a balance between salt and water, which could result in elevated potassium levels. This can cause a condition known as hyperkalemia, which is linked to potentially life-threatening heart problems and other health issues. Last month, two studies in the British Medical Journal found that Yaz and Yasmin side effects, as well as drugs like it, include an increased risk of serious blood clots three-fold or two-fold compared to earlier-generation oral

Yaz Blood Clots Mean Settlements for Some Patients

One of the most serious Yaz side effects of the popular fourth-generation brand of birth control marketed  is the potential for patients to experience Yaz blood clots, which can sometimes manifest in the lungs as pulmonary embolisms. Because these Yaz birth control side effects are so serious and potentially life-threatening, many patients who have experienced them are filing a Yaz lawsuit against the drugmaker, Bayer, in order to gain some compensation for the medical costs and other drains on finances and quality of life associated with the condition.

            It may leave a Yaz lawyer wondering about the possibility that Bayer might choose to settle with some plaintiffs out of court. This would be beneficial to both parties as details of the settlement and the case could be

Cases Against Yaz Filed By Women Who Were Harmed By New Birth Control

Last year, annual sales of Yaz reached $361 million, according to Pennsylvania-based SDI Health, which tracks sales of prescription drugs. Annual sales of Yasmin had declined since 2008 when the drug generated $329 million. A year after Yasmin went on the market; the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen placed the drug on its list of “Do not use pills.” In June, FDA regulators acknowledged new evidence that raised more questions about the safety of Yaz and birth control pills like it, including the top-selling generic Ocella. The agency posted a notice on its website saying it was aware of studies recently published in the British Medical Journal that showed oral contraceptives containing drospirenone were two to three times more likely to cause blood clots than other birth control pills.

In an order filed on Monday, Judge David R. Herndon expanded the scope of discovery beyond the 24 cases selected last year to serve as a pool of bellwether lawsuits, which are being prepared for early trial dates. Case-specific discovery, including depositions of individual plaintiffs, will also now be permitted in the oldest 100 non-bellwether cases that have been filed. About 6,350 lawsuits are now consolidated as part of the Yasmin and Yaz litigation before Judge Herndon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. When Judge Herndon implemented the original bellwether program in October 2010, there were about 3,700 filed cases and the number of cases is expected to continue to grow as Yaz and Yasmin lawyers review and file additional cases.

When they were approved by regulators, the pills were considered an advance over older forms of oral contraceptives because they were taken for 24 days rather than the usual 21, which was believed to benefit women because it created less hormonal fluctuation. But, all of the suits involve allegations that Bayer failed to properly research their birth control pills or adequately warn about the increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening injuries from the birth control pills containing drospirenone, such as a stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and gallbladder disease.