2011 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for those affected by the birth control brands Yaz and Yasmin, brands produced by the Bayer Corporation. The side effects of these drugs can be extremely severe, and lawsuits filed by women who have suffered from them have been piling up, leading to multidistrict litigation that groups trials together based on complaint.
The first of these trials, one whose plaintiff is the victims of Yaz pulmonary embolism from the pill, is set to take place in September 2011, kicking off several more bellwether trials for gallbladder disease and deep vein thrombosis, both of which will take place in 2012 but whose discovery period will conclude in September and November of 2011 respectively.
Some of the complaints filed by women who had been taking the medication include gallbladder disease, stroke, blood clot, and pulmonary embolism – all of which can be severely debilitating, and in some cases even fatal. The multidistrict form of litigation consolidates victims into groups based on complaint, streamlining pretrial research. These individual trials based on side effect will go through the Southern District of Illinois and be presided over by Judge Herndon.
24 “test trials” have been chosen from a pool of all of the cases, eight of which involve pulmonary embolism as a complaint. These trials will allow plaintiffs to get a feel for the kind of compensation they will receive as well as the trial process itself.
All of the cases will deal with Yaz, Ocella, and Yasmin, birth control pills that contain the hormone drospirenone, a controversial ingredient that is suspected to be the culprit for the more serious side effects women are experiencing while taking the drug. The Bayer Corporation is likely to see many more Yasmin lawsuits being filed in 2011, increasing the already thousands of lawsuits against them.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Bayer Used Underhanded Tactics in Order to Sell Yaz
Since the beginning, Yaz was marketed as the “pill that could do more.” More of what exactly? The pill came loaded to the brim with deadly side effects such as heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, gallbladder problems, loss of consciousness, increased blood pressure, and even anxiety. Of course, none of these were adequately mentioned by Bayer. Instead, the pill was touted as a cure all, supposedly a cure for acne, stress, cramping, you name it.
With the catch slogan of “beyond birth control,” Yaz was ready to dominate the birth control pill market, and make it’s way into the lives of thousands upon thousands of unsuspecting women.
The problem is, even though lawsuits against Bayer are currently under way, for some parents they didn’t come soon enough.
Joan Cummins, mother of Michelle Cummins, watched her daughter pass away after having a pulmonary embolism caused by Yaz. Michelle, an 18 year old, was “completely healthy, at college, with the world at her fingertips.”
If Joan even had the slightest clue that Yaz could kill her child, she would never have let her daughter take the pill.
These safer alternatives do not include Beyaz, the new rebranding of Yaz with a folate additive. This additive is being marketed as having a healthy dose of vitamin B that every body needs. However, again Bayer is sidestepping the obvious truth, which is the fact that Beyaz has some of the same exact side effects as Yaz!
Clearly, one should take care when choosing what to put inside their own body.
With the catch slogan of “beyond birth control,” Yaz was ready to dominate the birth control pill market, and make it’s way into the lives of thousands upon thousands of unsuspecting women.
Underhanded Tactics Lead to Lawsuits against Yaz
Fast forward a few years, and now those same thousands of unsuspecting women are suing Bayer for failing to clearly specify the Yaz side effects. Bayer knew that the drug Yaz contained risks, but never truly informed the public.The problem is, even though lawsuits against Bayer are currently under way, for some parents they didn’t come soon enough.
Joan Cummins, mother of Michelle Cummins, watched her daughter pass away after having a pulmonary embolism caused by Yaz. Michelle, an 18 year old, was “completely healthy, at college, with the world at her fingertips.”
If Joan even had the slightest clue that Yaz could kill her child, she would never have let her daughter take the pill.
The FDA Takes Action
The FDA has since forced Bayer to stop running the most underhanded of it’s ads. However, Bayer still markets Yaz with full force even though a number of safer alternatives have been launched.These safer alternatives do not include Beyaz, the new rebranding of Yaz with a folate additive. This additive is being marketed as having a healthy dose of vitamin B that every body needs. However, again Bayer is sidestepping the obvious truth, which is the fact that Beyaz has some of the same exact side effects as Yaz!
Clearly, one should take care when choosing what to put inside their own body.
Penalty to Bayer for Misleading Advertisements Despite Lawsuits
The closest the controversial birth control pill Yaz ever came to a total recall by the Food and Drug Administration was in late 2009, when the drugmaker Bayer was forced to recall nearly 33,000 boxes of the pills after it was revealed that they were using unsafe production processes in creating the drug. Ocella, the generic form of the drospirenone-based contraceptive, was hit even harder by the Yaz recall – 120,000 boxes were pulled from the market due to faulty processes used by the Bayer manufacturing company.
Previously, Yaz has been slapped with two separate warnings from the Food and Drug Administration due to their marketing methods. In the first case, which took place in 2003, Bayer was putting out ads making claims that the synthetic hormone drospirenone was a more effective hormone than those in most birth control pills already on the market. The Food and Drug Administration contacted them to let them know that there was no scientific evidence that this was the case – and to this day, there have been no studies that show drospirenone to be any better than another hormone for birth control purposes. Then again in 2008, when Bayer was running an ad campaign that claimed Yaz was not only a birth control pill but a way of controlling acne and symptoms associated with severe PMS such as moodiness, bloating, and anxiety, the Food and Drug Administration gave them another warning, this time because Bayer was advertising their product as a cure for conditions that it was not approved to treat.
However, this is not the only concern that women have with Yaz – the birth control has been linked to serious side effects such as pulmonary embolism, Yaz heart attack, and stroke. These conditions can even be fatal in some cases. Therefore, it is no wonder why dozens of women have already filed lawsuits against the Bayer Corporation, while many more are following suit.
Previously, Yaz has been slapped with two separate warnings from the Food and Drug Administration due to their marketing methods. In the first case, which took place in 2003, Bayer was putting out ads making claims that the synthetic hormone drospirenone was a more effective hormone than those in most birth control pills already on the market. The Food and Drug Administration contacted them to let them know that there was no scientific evidence that this was the case – and to this day, there have been no studies that show drospirenone to be any better than another hormone for birth control purposes. Then again in 2008, when Bayer was running an ad campaign that claimed Yaz was not only a birth control pill but a way of controlling acne and symptoms associated with severe PMS such as moodiness, bloating, and anxiety, the Food and Drug Administration gave them another warning, this time because Bayer was advertising their product as a cure for conditions that it was not approved to treat.
However, this is not the only concern that women have with Yaz – the birth control has been linked to serious side effects such as pulmonary embolism, Yaz heart attack, and stroke. These conditions can even be fatal in some cases. Therefore, it is no wonder why dozens of women have already filed lawsuits against the Bayer Corporation, while many more are following suit.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Gallbladder Disease a Dangerous Yaz Side Effect
Although they have more frequently been in the news due to its usage being connected with such pulmonary issues as heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and arrhythmia, the drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol-based Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills also increase patients’ risk of another serious condition – gallbladder disease. The fourth-generation pill, manufactured by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, as well as a generic form of the same medication called Ocella, has been shown to increase the risks of gallbladder disease on many patients.
The hormones in birth control pills, as with the medication in most other drugs, are processed by the liver, the organ that makes bile. Bile helps the body digest fat and moves from the liver to the gallbladder. However, the hormones in Yaz and Yasmin as well as Ocella change the make-up of the bile and when it reaches the gallbladder, it is no longer as effective as it should be at breaking down gallstones. Cholecystitis and cholelithiasis are both diseases of the gallbladder that mainly effect menopausal and post-menopausal women – and women are already at twice as much risk as men for gallbladder disease – but now thanks to these oral contraceptives, women who have not yet reached menopause are developing these diseases without any other risk factor. Although these diseases are normally relatively rare, women who simply should not have developed them are doing so. Gallbladder disease is extremely unpleasant and can cause symptoms such as serious pain, fever, jaundice, and vomiting among other side effects.
Over one thousand Yaz and Yasmin-related lawsuits have been filed against Bayer Pharmaceuticals, with an untold number still to come. One of the major complaints from plaintiffs is that the drugmaker neglected to mention the serious risks that come with taking these medications and that prospective patients and even doctors were not warned enough about Yaz and Yasmin risk factors.
The hormones in birth control pills, as with the medication in most other drugs, are processed by the liver, the organ that makes bile. Bile helps the body digest fat and moves from the liver to the gallbladder. However, the hormones in Yaz and Yasmin as well as Ocella change the make-up of the bile and when it reaches the gallbladder, it is no longer as effective as it should be at breaking down gallstones. Cholecystitis and cholelithiasis are both diseases of the gallbladder that mainly effect menopausal and post-menopausal women – and women are already at twice as much risk as men for gallbladder disease – but now thanks to these oral contraceptives, women who have not yet reached menopause are developing these diseases without any other risk factor. Although these diseases are normally relatively rare, women who simply should not have developed them are doing so. Gallbladder disease is extremely unpleasant and can cause symptoms such as serious pain, fever, jaundice, and vomiting among other side effects.
Over one thousand Yaz and Yasmin-related lawsuits have been filed against Bayer Pharmaceuticals, with an untold number still to come. One of the major complaints from plaintiffs is that the drugmaker neglected to mention the serious risks that come with taking these medications and that prospective patients and even doctors were not warned enough about Yaz and Yasmin risk factors.
Updated Yaz Warning Label Reveals Risks
Responding to pressure from the general public as well as from the FDA, Bayer HealthCare has provided new information for their Yaz warning labels. The newly produced warning informs women and their doctors of some serious dangers such as blood clots which are known to be associated with Yaz (Yasmin) oral contraceptives.
This latest development surfaced after thousands of Yaz lawsuits and reports detailed the injuries and deaths suffered by women taking this new form of birth control. Yaz contains a hormone called ‘drospirenone,’ which has been touted as a successful remedy for adult acne.
The disclaimer as given on the Yaz website:
‘In Addition, Who Shouldn’t Take YAZ? YAZ contains drospirenone, a different kind of hormone that for some may increase potassium too much. Therefore, you should not take YAZ if you have kidney, liver, or adrenal disease because this could cause serious heart and health problems. Tell your doctor if you are on daily long-term treatment for a chronic condition such as cardiovascular disease or chronic inflammatory disease. Women who take certain drugs (see below) should have their potassium level checked in the first month of taking YAZ.’
The information on the website fails to inform readers that elevated levels of potassium in the blood can be a direct cause of heart attack. High potassium levels can also require numerous hospital visits for invasive treatments such as dialysis and/or administration of intravenous medications.
Removal of the gallbladder calls for permanent changes in diet, and also exposes the victim to additional health problems. This is doubtless an unwarranted risk to women at a time when the marketplace teems with safer oral contraceptive options.
Those following the issue remain largely unsurprised by the failure of Bayer to fully disclose the health risks associated with Yaz. In 2009, the Yaz family of contraceptives garnered profits of $1.74 billion, and saw an increase of 4.7% compared to 2008.
This latest development surfaced after thousands of Yaz lawsuits and reports detailed the injuries and deaths suffered by women taking this new form of birth control. Yaz contains a hormone called ‘drospirenone,’ which has been touted as a successful remedy for adult acne.
The disclaimer as given on the Yaz website:
‘In Addition, Who Shouldn’t Take YAZ? YAZ contains drospirenone, a different kind of hormone that for some may increase potassium too much. Therefore, you should not take YAZ if you have kidney, liver, or adrenal disease because this could cause serious heart and health problems. Tell your doctor if you are on daily long-term treatment for a chronic condition such as cardiovascular disease or chronic inflammatory disease. Women who take certain drugs (see below) should have their potassium level checked in the first month of taking YAZ.’
New Yaz label excludes certain risks
The improved disclaimer is a positive development made by Bayer HealthCare, however it is evident that drospirenone continues to represent a grave risk to many women. Further testing and investigation is needed in order to minimize future injuries and deaths among consumers of the drug.The information on the website fails to inform readers that elevated levels of potassium in the blood can be a direct cause of heart attack. High potassium levels can also require numerous hospital visits for invasive treatments such as dialysis and/or administration of intravenous medications.
Yaz can cause gallbladder complications
Yaz safety information includes no mention of the fact that some women who take Yaz birth control pills develop gallbladder disease issues as a result. Inflammation of the gallbladder and the formation of gallstones have been known to occur in Yaz users, and this oftentimes requires a surgical procedure to take out the entire gallbladder.Removal of the gallbladder calls for permanent changes in diet, and also exposes the victim to additional health problems. This is doubtless an unwarranted risk to women at a time when the marketplace teems with safer oral contraceptive options.
Those following the issue remain largely unsurprised by the failure of Bayer to fully disclose the health risks associated with Yaz. In 2009, the Yaz family of contraceptives garnered profits of $1.74 billion, and saw an increase of 4.7% compared to 2008.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thousands of Yaz Gallbladder Lawsuits Filed
Among the more than 4,000 Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits that have already been filed in both federal and state courts throughout the country, more than 1,500 of these contain allegations of gallbladder disease stemming from use of these birth control pills.
So-called, “fourth generation” oral contraceptives, both Yasmin and Yaz include a contentious synthetic form of progestin named drospirenone. This hormone has been found to produce both gallstones (cholelithiasis) and inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) as side effects.
Physicians haven’t yet been able to precisely determine just how gallbladder disease arises from Yaz or Yasmin consumption, but one strong theory is that drospirenone causes dehydration that leads, in turn, to gallbladder disease.
Some of the more recent lawsuits involve claims that drospirenone prevents the uptake of the hormone aldosterone by the kidneys, which makes the gallbladder more susceptible to forming infection or disease-causing gallstones. Many victims of Yaz gallbladder disease are compelled to have their gallbladders removed via cholecystectomy.
In January 2012, the first Yaz gallbladder lawsuit will go to trial. The conclusion reached by this first trial will greatly affect the hundreds of victims who have filed lawsuits involving similar allegations.
In 2008, Bayer Corporation (the maker of Yaz) received almost $1 billion in revenue from Yaz and Yasmin sales. That same year it was estimated that Yaz and Yasmin made up 30 percent of the total birth control pill sales in the United States. There have been repeated requests for a Yaz recall, with no results thus far.
So-called, “fourth generation” oral contraceptives, both Yasmin and Yaz include a contentious synthetic form of progestin named drospirenone. This hormone has been found to produce both gallstones (cholelithiasis) and inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) as side effects.
Physicians haven’t yet been able to precisely determine just how gallbladder disease arises from Yaz or Yasmin consumption, but one strong theory is that drospirenone causes dehydration that leads, in turn, to gallbladder disease.
Some of the more recent lawsuits involve claims that drospirenone prevents the uptake of the hormone aldosterone by the kidneys, which makes the gallbladder more susceptible to forming infection or disease-causing gallstones. Many victims of Yaz gallbladder disease are compelled to have their gallbladders removed via cholecystectomy.
Yasmin Gallbladder Disease Lawsuits Under Multidistrict Litigation
In the Southern District of Illinois, U.S. District Judge David Herndon has been placed in control of the 4,000-plus Yaz lawsuits that have been consolidated under multidistrict litigation. Upon analysis of the claims, it has been found that 43 percent of them contain claims of Yaz gallbladder issues. A further 41 percent of the Yaz lawsuit allegations involve serious injuries caused by blood clots, for example pulmonary embolism. Ten percent of the lawsuits make allegations of stroke and heart attack provoked by Yaz use.In January 2012, the first Yaz gallbladder lawsuit will go to trial. The conclusion reached by this first trial will greatly affect the hundreds of victims who have filed lawsuits involving similar allegations.
Yaz Gallbladder Disease Lawsuits Grow In Number
Not a week goes by without more Yaz gallbladder disease lawsuits being filed. Recently, at the end of January 2011, Amie Nardone of New Jersey filed a Yaz gallbladder disease lawsuit. Another victim, Lana Speck of Galveston Texas, also filed a lawsuit involving Yaz gallbladder disease on January 31. Speck alleges that taking Yaz lead directly to the required removal of her gallbladder, and that she currently experiences severe abdominal pain and chronic indigestion because of this.In 2008, Bayer Corporation (the maker of Yaz) received almost $1 billion in revenue from Yaz and Yasmin sales. That same year it was estimated that Yaz and Yasmin made up 30 percent of the total birth control pill sales in the United States. There have been repeated requests for a Yaz recall, with no results thus far.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Which Yaz and Yasmin Side Effects Lead to Lawsuits?
Many women, including current and former Yaz users, have experienced one or more side effects of Yaz and may be confused by headlines talking about Yaz side effects lawsuits. Is every woman who had side effects from Yaz or Yasmin birth control pills eligible to file a lawsuit? First, it’s good to be familiar with the numerous types of side effects these pills can cause. In addition, it’s important to understand that the consequences of these side effects for patients vary widely and depend on many different considerations.
Critics of Yaz and Yasmin quickly challenged the ads and marketing, saying that the FDA had not approved the pills for the treatment of acne or PMDD. Even worse, it was alleged, Bayer Pharmaceutical did not include proper warning about the potential side effects of these oral contraceptives. Many of the currently pending Yaz lawsuits mention Bayer’s lack of warning about side effects, and some even place the blame for this dearth of information on the physician who prescribed the pills.
There are no regulations stating how long an individual consumed Yaz in order to be eligible to file a Yaz lawsuit.
At the present time there are no regulations regarding the age of potential Yaz lawsuit plaintiffs.
Yaz Lawsuits Have Been Filed Based on Claims of:
Yaz Advertising and Lawsuits
Yasmin and Yaz are produced by a company named Bayer Pharmaceuticals. There is also a generic form of Yasmin marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals. Yasmin and Yaz make use of both ethinyl estradiol as well as a new progestin, drospirenone. The pills were promoted as effective birth control for young women, and some additional benefits of taking these pills were also featured prominently in print and television ads. The ads touted Yaz and Yasmin’s acne-clearing ability, as well as its tendency to alleviate the physical symptoms of PMDD. PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, is a severe type of PMS that some women suffer from.Critics of Yaz and Yasmin quickly challenged the ads and marketing, saying that the FDA had not approved the pills for the treatment of acne or PMDD. Even worse, it was alleged, Bayer Pharmaceutical did not include proper warning about the potential side effects of these oral contraceptives. Many of the currently pending Yaz lawsuits mention Bayer’s lack of warning about side effects, and some even place the blame for this dearth of information on the physician who prescribed the pills.
Who Can File a Yaz Lawsuit?
Anyone who has undergone suffering or injury stemming from the use of Yaz birth control may have the right to file a Yaz lawsuit. The medicine may also have been described as Yasmin or Ocella.There are no regulations stating how long an individual consumed Yaz in order to be eligible to file a Yaz lawsuit.
At the present time there are no regulations regarding the age of potential Yaz lawsuit plaintiffs.
Yaz Lawsuits Have Been Filed Based on Claims of:
- Gallbladder disease
- Heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Blood clots
- Pulmonary embolism
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- Sudden death
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