A New Case Against Manufacturer Bayer Joins the Yaz MDL

On July 20, 2012, Nebraska resident Jennifer Rood filed a lawsuit against Bayer, the manufacturer of the birth control pill Yaz. According to her Yaz attorney, Bayer is accused of failing to warn Plaintiff Rood and other consumers about the serious risks associated with Yaz. Yaz is a popular birth control pill that can lead to a Yaz pulmonary embolism, blood clots, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, heart attack, and gallbladder disease.

The lawsuit has joined the pending multidistrict litigation (MDL) under the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis). Chief Judge David Herndon is overseeing the MDL.

Bayer and the plaintiffs work toward settlements with many other cases remaining

When several plaintiffs have similar complaints against an entity, MDLs may be created. The intent of an MDL is to quickly and effectively solve several, similar lawsuits.

The attorneys working on the MDL are seeking to prove that the pill caused plaintiffs harmful Yaz side effects.

As of July 18, 2012, attorneys working on behalf of the plaintiffs in the MDL were working on reaching a settlement with Bayer. Over $402 million has already been paid by Bayer in the form of settlements to plaintiffs. The company recently announced that it had set aside an additional $810 million for future settlements. Despite that progress, 14,000 cases against Bayer remain.

A blood clot leads to a pulmonary embolism and accusations against Bayer of failure to warn

Rood started taking Yaz in 2002. She experienced a blood clot that eventually led to a pulmonary embolism. Blood clots can form in the heart, eyes, limbs, or lungs. Blood clots can cause burst blood vessels or prevent blood from moving through the body. A pulmonary embolism is the type of blood clot that forms in an artery of the lung, when this happens, a person may experience chest pains, a cough resulting in bloody discharge, sweating or blue-tinted skin. If left untreated, a pulmonary embolism after using Yasmin or Yaz can lead to death.

Rood and other plaintiffs in the MDL accuse Bayer of failing to warn them about side effects, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Rood accuses the company of failing to acknowledge the incidences of injuries, even after several credited studies linked Yaz use to harmful side effects.

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