Michigan Couple Files Yaz Deep Vein Thrombosis Lawsuit

Rosanne Schoenberger and her spouse are suing Bayer Pharmaceuticals, claiming the defendant is liable for failure to warn of dangerous Yaz and Yasmin side effects including deep vein thrombosis and other blood clot related injuries. Their complaint was severed from Yaz MDL litigation currently underway in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis).

Allegations in the Yaz deep vein thrombosis lawsuit state that as direct and proximate result of her use of the defendant’s oral contraceptives, the plaintiff developed DVT and suffered a pulmonary embolism in December 2006. As a consequence of these complications, Mrs. Schoenberger says she has incurred physical pain, mental anguish, medical expenses and has a diminished quality of life. The plaintiff was prescribed Yasmin in 2003 by her health care provider and was not told that Yasmin was not as safe as other viable contraceptives, according to court documents.

Yaz side effects lawyer adopts 12 counts against Bayer

Mirroring allegations made by thousands of other women, Rosanne Schoenberger says Bayer failed to sufficiently warn consumers and the medical community that the risks of adverse events with Yasmin (drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol) was higher than those of other available contraceptives. As noted in her Yaz deep vein thrombosis lawsuit, the FDA has received more than 50 reports of deaths where the decedents were users of Yasmin and Yaz, and because of underreporting, the actual number of women who suffered complications from the pills is likely much higher.

Multiple studies have highlighted the increased risk of blood clots among patients ingesting Yasmin/Yaz, which can lead to potentially fatal conditions including heart arrhythmia, stroke and pulmonary embolism. A 2009 study published in the British Medical Journal found that Yaz and Yasmin users have twice the risk of a clotting event than users of birth control pills that contain levonorgestral.

Several causes of action are named in this products liability lawsuit, including:

• Fraudulent concealment
• Strict Liability
• Breach of Implied Warranty and Merchantability
• Breach of Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose
• Breach of Express Warranty
• Negligent Failure to Warn
• Negligence
• Negligent Misrepresentation
• Fraudulent Misrepresentation
• Civil Conspiracy and Commercial Bribery
• Loss of Consortium (sought by Thomas Schoenberger for the loss of spousal companionship)
• Punitive Damages (to punish Bayer for alleged disregard for consumer safety)

Plaintiff contends Bayer knew of Yasmin risks

The Yaz deep vein thrombosis lawsuit plaintiff further alleges that Bayer misrepresented Yasmin as a safe and effective means of birth control, when numerous adverse event reports and medical studies had indicated otherwise. The defendants are also accused of failing to disclose information on pre and post marketing deaths attributed to Yaz/Yasmin and the high rate of blood clot injuries, including DVT and pulmonary emboli.

Yasmin was approved by the FDA in 2001. Its counterpart Yaz was introduced in 2006. Both pills contain a fourth generation progestin known as drospirenone that has been linked to dangerous side effects caused by blood clot formation. Drospirenone has also been blamed for other serious complications including gallbladder disease.

Due to the thousands of lawsuits involving the controversial pills, Yaz multidistrict litigation was established in Illinois federal court, where Bayer has been settling with plaintiffs to the tune of $1 billion. With more than 11,000 pending claims, the Yaz Marketing and Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2100) is the country’s largest active multidistrict litigation.