Two Colorado Women File Yaz DVT Claims Against Bayer
Two Colorado women—Evelyn Heidi Cottle and Tara Goggin—filed a Yaz side effects lawsuit against manufacturer Bayer on July 11, 2012. The case was filed in the current Yaz and Yasmin MDL in the Southern District of Illinois. The plaintiffs both claim to have been injured by the oral contraceptives. Each of the women used the product for only a few months before experiencing serious side effects.
Both plaintiffs point out that the progestin used in Yaz and Yasmin is “unlike other progestins available in the United States and was never before marketed in the United States prior to its use in Yasmin,” which was approved by the FDA in 2001.
Plaintiffs claim Yaz side effects
According to the complaint, Cottle first began using Yaz around May 2010, and stopped around October 2010. In that month, she was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, a condition in which Yaz blood clots form in the deep veins of the body, typically in the legs. Cottle states that as a result of her injuries, she has endured pain, suffering, and emotional distress.
Goggin claims that she first starting using Yasmin around September 2011, and stopped in December 2011. As a result, she suffered deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism in December 2011. A serious condition, a Yaz pulmonary embolism can damage part of the lung. If left untreated, it can lead to death in 30 percent of patients. Goggin survived the emergency, but was left with physical limitations as well as mental and emotional distress.
Both plaintiffs state that if they had known of the increased risks and dangers associated with Yaz and Yasmin, they would not have used the product.
Yaz lawsuit gives details on drospirenone
Shortly after the introduction of combined oral contraceptives in the 1960s, doctors and scientists found that women using combined hormonal birth control pills had a higher risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes than women not using the pill.
As a result, they developed “second generation” progestins. When these were combined with the lower estrogen levels, the risks were reduced.
Yaz and Yasmin contain the fourth-generation progestin, drospirenone. This progestin is new, without a lot of scientific data behind it. Postmarketing studies and reports, however, have indicated the potential for serious Yaz side effects, including Yaz blood clots that can lead to pulmonary embolism and Yaz stroke.
Plaintiffs suffering Yaz blood clots negotiate settlements
The plaintiffs in this Yaz lawsuit claim that Bayer over-promoted Yasmin and Yaz, stating that the products were superior to other birth control pills without substantial evidence to support such a claim. In fact, the FDA sent a warning letter to the company in 2003, objecting to this line of marketing, and stating that the manufacturer had failed to warn about the pill’s potential to increase potassium levels, which can lead to health problems.
In April 2012, the FDA required new, stronger warnings be added to the product labels about Yaz blood clots. Currently, Bayer is working to negotiate Yaz settlements in the Yasmin and Yaz MDL, having settled about 700 cases so far.
The two Colorado women bring counts of defective design, inadequate warning, failure to adequately test, negligence, and outrageous conduct.
