Five Plaintiffs Join the Illinois MDL Against Yaz and Yasmin

Five plaintiffs—Jordynn Ligocki, Aracelia Lopez, Joyce Simmons, Barbara Davenport, and Kimberly Collins—filed joint lawsuits to join the Yaz multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2100 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on August 8, 2012. The plaintiffs, according to their Yaz attorneys, have all suffered injuries from the oral contraceptive manufactured by Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Their injuries have included pulmonary embolism and stroke, two conditions often attributed to blood clots.

Serious injuries are alleged after using Yaz or Yasmin

The joint complaint states that the plaintiffs were prescribed and ingested Yasmin and/or Yaz (ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone), two oral birth control medications. They allege that as a result of these medications, they suffered serious and life-threatening injuries.

According to the plaintiffs, as a direct result of their use of Yaz or Yasmin the litigants suffered the following injuries:

• Jordin Ligocki was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism on January 17, 2012

• Aracelia Lopez was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism on December 26, 2006

• Joyce Simmons was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism on October 24, 2011 and suffered gallbladder removal surgery on October 24, 2011

• Barbara Davenport was diagnosed with blood clots after using Yaz on November 22, 2011

• Kimberly Collins suffered gallbladder removal surgery on March 1, 2006

The plaintiffs claim to have suffered “significant harm, conscious pain and suffering, physical injury and bodily impairment, including but not limited to suffering from pulmonary embolism, blood clots and/or gallbladder removal surgeries, and related sequelae requiring hospitalization, recovery therapy, continuing treatment and medical monitoring, which may have caused permanent effects, and which may continue in the future to cause physical effects and damage.”

Plaintiffs claim that manufacturer Bayer should have known of the risks with Yaz and Yasmin

As a result of their injuries, the women have experienced pain and suffering, bodily impairment, mental anguish, and diminished enjoyment of life. Their lawsuits claim defective manufacturing, defective design or formulation, inadequate warning nonconformance with representation, failure to adequately test, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, and negligent misrepresentation. They request compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages, as well as medical and legal expenses.

According to the complaint, there is sufficient evidence that drospirenone, the fourth generation progestin used in both Yasmin and Yaz, may lead to increased risk of blood clots leading to stroke resulting from Yaz and related conditions. In fact, the plaintiffs’ lawsuits state that Bayer “knew or should have known that the use of Yasmin and Yaz created a higher risk of blood clots than other oral contraceptives on the market, including but not limited to second generation oral contraceptive, and that, when taken as directed, such use was unreasonably dangerous to consumers.”

Their lawyer alleges that Bayer failed to adequately warn the plaintiffs or their health care providers of the serious risks involved with the birth control pills.

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