Plaintiff's Case Joins Yaz Class Action Lawsuit

A plaintiff has agreed to allow her Yaz and Yasmin lawsuit be consolidated in the coordinated proceedings taking place in relation to the birth control drugs. The coordinated proceedings are taking place in Los Angeles County, California, and are similar to class action litigation in a number of ways but are distinct in others. Grace Santamaria filed a Yaz lawsuit, represented by a Yaz lawyer, that will now be connected to this litigation. 

Yaz Consolidated Litigation Similar to Class Action

Santamaria's lawsuit will be combined with similar lawsuits, as it would be if it were involved in a Yaz class action lawsuit, but it also retains its individuality and it will be considered separately from other lawsuits of its type based on her individual experiences and side effects that she endured. In a class action lawsuit, any damages awarded to plaintiffs involved in this type of litigation are divided among them, while in a consolidated lawsuit pretrial processes such as witness testimony and discovery are shared but the cases are still considered individually. The cases are also remanded, or returned to the courts in which they were filed, before litigation will take place unless a settlement is reached outside of court. 

Yaz Bellwether Trials Postponed

Judge David Herndon has postponed Yaz bellwether trials, set to take place earlier this month, in favor of a mediation process that will hopefully allow plaintiffs and defendants to come to a settlement agreement outside of court. The mediation will begin "without delay" and overseeing the discussion will be Professor Stephen Saltzburg of George Washington School of Law. 

Protective order granted in Yaz lawsuit

Plaintiff Kerry Sims was going to be the first Yaz plaintiff to see her case in court. The first bellwether trial was set to be Sims v. Bayer et al. Sims, not unlike many other Yaz plaintiffs, has linked her acute left-sided pulmonary embolism, which was diagnosed on the 18th of July 2008, to her Yaz use. Yaz pulmonary embolism is a condition in which a blood clot becomes lodged in one of the lungs' major arteries. It is a condition that may result from Yaz deep vein thrombosis. 

Yaz Bellwether Trials on Hold for Mediation

The preliminary bellwether trials for Yaz side effects were scheduled to begin on January 9, 2012, but they have been put on hold as thousands of Yaz side effects lawsuits have been ordered into mediation by Chief Judge David R. Herndon, who is presiding over the Yaz multidistrict litigation case. The order came down on the 31st of December, 2011, and now instead of each lawsuit going to trial they will now pursue settlements through mediation. 

The move was echoed the consolidated Pennsylvania state court side effects lawsuits, as Judge Sandra Mazer Moss ordered the parties into mediation on the 6th of January, 2012. Yaz side effects lawsuits, which deal with such serious conditions as Yaz pulmonary embolism, Yaz blood clot, and Yaz stroke, will be put on hold as the possibility of a global settlement is explored involving thousands of plaintiffs and the defendant, Bayer pharmaceuticals. 

Mediation Over Trial in Yaz MDL

The mulditistrict litigation case involving Yaz birth control has been consolidated in the Southern District of Illinois and is being presided over by Judge David R. Herndon. Now, this judge has decided to go forward with mediation as opposed to a trial for the first Yaz case out of the many that are involved in the litigation. Thousands of cases are involved in the multi district litigation, filed by women who have experienced side effects associated with Yaz and Yasmin birth control medication. 

According to some reports, Yaz is the fourth most popular birth control pill in the United States, although it is one of those with the most Yaz side effects. Thousands of plaintiffs have become involved in litigation against Bayer Pharmaceuticals, holding them accountable for Yaz and Yasmin side effects. Yaz blood clots, stroke, heart attack, Yaz deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism have all been cited in Yaz birth control lawsuits.

Judge In Yaz MDL Announces Hopes For Settlements to Occur

In October 2010, Judge Herndon implemented a process that calls for a handful of cases to be prepared for a series of three early trials, known as bellwether cases. The first trial will involve a Yaz pulmonary embolism. The second trial will involve a gallbladder injury from Yaz and the third trial will involve a venous thromboembolism (VTE), such as a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Currently the Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits have been centralized for pretrial proceedings in the federal court system as well as several states. In federal court, all cases filed throughout the country are being handled out of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District