New York Couple Files Yasmin Lawsuit

On May 7, 2012, New York residents Angela Wright and her husband filed a Yasmin lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. The lawsuit states that Angela Wright developed a blood clot from Yaz, an oral contraceptive. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved Yasmin in 2001 and later, Yaz in 2006. Over the last decade, several studies have demonstrated that the drugs’ active ingredient, the progestin drospirenone, is associated with increased risk of blood clots, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and even death. Click the link for more on Yaz related blood clots.

Plaintiff allegedly develops a blood clot from Yaz birth control

According to her lawsuit, Wright states that she took Yaz and Yasmin from January 2010 to June 2011. Her complaint alleges that Wright suffered from side effects including vaginal spotting and bleeding, abdominal pain, pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs), dysuria (painful urination), and deep vein thrombosis after using Yasmin or Yaz. When a blood clot dislodges from the deep veins, it can travel through the bloodstream and eventually block a major artery that feeds a woman’s lungs. This results in pressure on the heart’s right ventricle, which in turn decreases blood supply to the lung and results in pulmonary embolism. The condition can be fatal.

FDA analysis reveals risks Yaz or Yasmin side effects

An FDA advisory panel determined in December 2011 that the Yaz warning label was insufficient. The panel reviewed a prior FDA analysis into adverse event reports, which showed that 10 in 10,000 women would develop a blood clot from Yaz; for women taking other oral contraceptives, the risk was only 6 in 10,000. Another FDA study revealed a 75% increased risk of blood clots. Then on April 10, 2012, the agency announced that they would require warning label updates for all birth control pills containing drospirenone.

Plaintiffs request punitive and exemplary damages

Wright’s Yasmin lawsuit also notes that the FDA warned the manufacturer defendants at least three times – in 2003, 2008 and 2009 – for misleading television advertisements that minimized the side effects. Her lawsuit also alleges that the manufacturer ignored the risk of blood clots, despite mounting research and scientific evidence. Wright’s complaint charges the defendants with failure to warn, negligence, manufacturing and design defects, consumer fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and fraud and deceit. The plaintiffs request exemplary and punitive damages.

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