More
than 6,300 lawsuits are currently pending in the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits have combined to form a multidistrict
litigation before Judge Herndon. In October 2010, a Case Management Order was
established in the federal MDL, scheduling three Yaz and Yasmin bellwether
trials, which are representative cases that will be used to gauge how juries
will respond to testimony and evidence that is likely to be introduced
throughout other cases in the litigation. The first trial was scheduled to
begin in September 2011, involving a Yaz pulmonary embolism lawsuit, followed by a
second
While
cases in the MDL are handled in a manner similar to how a Yaz or Yasmin class action lawsuit would be managed during pretrial litigation, each
claim remains an individual case. If the litigation does not resolve during
pretrial proceedings, the individual lawsuits will be returned back to the
federal district court where they were filed for a trial. At the state court
level, litigation over Yaz and Yasmin has also been centralized in New Jersey
and Pennsylvania, where the cases will be managed in a manner similar to the
MDL. The New Jersey Yaz litigation is centralized before Judge Brian R.
Martinotti in Bergen County Superior Court. The Pennsylvania Yaz litigation is
centralized before Judge Sandra Mazer Moss in Philadelphia.
Both Yaz and Yasmin are made with a type of progestin called
drospirenone, making them different from many other oral contraceptives.
Drospirenone can elevate the body’s potassium levels, which can lead to a
condition called hyperkalemia in certain patients, which may result in
potentially serious heart and health problems. In May, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Yaz, Yasmin, and other contraceptives made
with drospirenone were being monitored because of fears they might increase a
woman’s risk of developing a blood clot more than birth control pills made with
a different type of progestin.
