Yaz Lawsuits

Thousands of women who suffered injuries or side effects from the active ingredients drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol in Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills have filed suit.

The pills’ manufacturer, Bayer AG, denies any wrongdoing, telling ABC News in a statement that the drugs are as safe as other birth control pills when used correctly.

Those who alleged they were harmed by Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills and plaintiffs claiming that their loved ones died as a result of using the pills, assert that Bayer intentionally concealed knowledge of risks and misled the public about supposed benefits of the medications.

Several independent studies that surfaced in 2011 called into question the safety of birth control pills made with the synthetic estrogen drospirenone, an active ingredient in Yaz and Yasmin.

The Food and Drug Administration confirmed in 2012 that drospirenone may increase a person’s risk of blood clots by as much as three times the risk of progestins such as levonorgestrel, which is used in older oral contraceptives.

Since the consolidated MDL in Illinois began in October 2009, more than 19,000 Yaz and Yasmin cases have been resolved, according to Judge David R. Herndon in his Order Recommending Termination of Multidistrict Litigation dated Dec. 18, 2018.

Bayer and litigation plaintiffs reached settlement agreements for cases involving blood clots, complications resulting from blood clots and gallbladder problems. The Plaintiff’s Steering Committee — a committee formed by plaintiffs’ attorneys to move litigation along — disbanded on Nov. 20, 2018.

With only a couple of cases awaiting final resolution, MDL No. 2100 “Yasmin and Yaz (drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation” closed on Jan. 2, 2019.

Many users of Yaz and Yasmin say they’ve suffered from heart, gallbladder and blood disorders. Thousands of injuries and more than 100 deaths are connected to the drugs’ severe side effects.

In their lawsuits, people claim that Bayer knew or should have known of the alleged risks and, therefore, should be held liable for failing to disclose the risks and not adequately warning users.

People say Bayer marketed Yaz in a way that played up the benefits and downplayed serious dangers. They also accuse Bayer of not doing enough research and failing to issue a recall after reports showed evidence of risks.

Women who filed lawsuits against Bayer claim Yaz or Yasmin caused or was a contributing cause of health problems including gallbladder injuries, blood clots, stroke, kidney injuries and kidney failure.

Maggie Yunker of Illinois suffered a life-altering stroke at age 20 after switching to Yaz from a different form of birth control pill, according to her lawsuit. Yunker had been taking birth control pills for about a year when her doctor suggested the switch.

Promised that Yaz could clear up her acne and relieve period symptoms, Yunker began taking the new birth control pill and later developed multiple blood clots that broke free and traveled to her brain. Once in the brain, the clots cut off blood flow and caused a stroke, according to her lawsuit. Bayer settled Yunker’s claim for $237,000.

In 2013, Yunker told the Chicago Tribune, “I didn’t think anything bad could happen, especially since a doctor was giving it to me… Any medicine has risk factors, but when you’re 20 you don’t think about it.”

Roughly 20,000 women were injured or died after taking Yaz, resulting in lawsuits similar to Yunker’s.

In 2007, Carissa Ubersox was 24 and a new college graduate. She had just started working in her new role as a pediatric nurse when her boyfriend surprised her with a marriage proposal on Christmas Day.

Ubersox wanted to “look and feel her best for her wedding day,” so she switched her birth control to Yaz. A commercial made it sound “like a miracle drug,” she later told ABC News.

But in February 2008, just three months after she began taking Yaz, Ubersox said her legs began to ache, which she shrugged off as being a side effect of standing on her feet for 12-hour nursing shifts.

But soon, Ubersox found herself gasping for air. Blood clots in her legs had traveled through her bloodstream to her lungs, resulting in a double pulmonary embolism that nearly took her life. Her fiancé called 911 and on the way to the hospital, her heart stopped. Revived by emergency doctors, she remained in a coma for almost two weeks.

When Ubersox awoke, she was blind. Ubersox sued Bayer after losing her eyesight, her career and her fiancé, as reported by ABC News, alleging “Yaz [was] to blame.”

In 2009, all Yaz and Yasmin federal cases from across the country were consolidated for greater efficiency since they shared similar claims against common defendants. The multidistrict litigation (MDL) was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and assigned to U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon.

During the litigation, Bayer failed to exclude an expert for plaintiffs: former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler. Kessler, who served from 1990 to 1997, said Bayer withheld vital information about the risks associated with Yaz during the approval process.

He also said that an FDA advisory committee’s vote to keep Yaz on the market was tainted by conflicts of interest. Bayer argued that Kessler didn’t have the credentials to be an expert. The judge disagreed.

As of January 15, 2019, no cases remained in the MDL.

Meanwhile, hundreds of lawsuits were also filed and consolidated in state courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California. Yaz pulmonary embolism cases were supposed to be the first to go to trial with one test case selected by Bayer and another case selected by the plaintiffs.

The next round was to involve women who suffered from gallbladder injuries, and the final round was to include blood clot injuries.

However, Judge Herndon postponed the bellwether proceedings and ordered both sides to mediation. The state court cases in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were also postponed, awaiting the mediation outcome. By March 2014, Bayer had settled 8,250 cases for $1.7 billion.

Less than two years later, the number of settled cases had more than doubled, with Bayer on the hook for more than $2 billion. As of November 2018, 13 cases remained pending under the MDL.