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
contraceptives. Bayer criticized the results of the studies at the time, insisting that side effects were rare.

Michelle Pfleger, an 18-year-old college student in North Carolina, died of cardiac arrest last September after taking YAZ, also known as Yasmin or Ocella, to treat acne, according to one complaint. Bayer is currently indicating that they intend to fight the Yaz lawsuits and do not have any plans to settle Yaz or Yasmin lawsuits. However, our Yasmin and Yaz injury lawyers believe that as the litigation proceeds closer to trial, the drug maker will begin to

engage in individual settlement negotiations for injury claims or attempt to settle the Yaz litigation on a global basis. As part of the coordinated management, the courts will certainly encourage both plaintiffs and Bayer to discuss settlement amounts for the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits before cases start to go to trial.

At least three trial dates are anticipated in the federal MDL, one involving a Yaz pulmonary embolism, one involving a gallbladder injury and one involving a venous thromboembolism, with the first Yaz trial in federal court expected to begin early next year.  If the litigation does not settle before the bellwether Yaz trials and Yasmin trials begin, the results of those cases may lead to a settlement for other cases based on how the juries respond to the evidence and value the plaintiffs’ damages in the Yasmin and Yaz injury claims.