Mississippi Yaz Litigation Transferred to Illinois MDL

On May 22, 2012, Yaz litigation filed by Ellen and Warren Hollingsworth was transferred to federal multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis). The Mississippi residents charge Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals with failure to warn the public of the drug’s side effects, including deep vein thrombosis and blood clots from Yaz. The MDL encompasses the Hollingsworths’ allegations, and also incorporates other cases that cite an array of side effects. Chief Judge David R. Herndon presides.

Heart attack and stroke among side effects of Yaz

According to her lawsuit, Ellen Hollingsworth began taking Yaz, an oral contraceptive, in May 2003. The birth control medication contains drospirenone, a fourth-generation progestin that first became available in the U.S. in 2001. Drospirenone, and therefore Yaz, has been linked to a range of serious side effects, including stroke, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), gallbladder disease, pulmonary embolism, and heart attack. Click here for additional information on Yaz blood clots.

Plaintiff allegedly suffers DVT, blood clots from Yaz

On December 8, 2006 – three years after she began taking the drug – Ms. Hollingsworth was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis from Yaz. Also known as DVT, this condition occurs when blood clots form in the deep vein; deep vein thrombosis can lead to an array of secondary – and life-threatening – conditions, such as limb ischemia, post-thrombotic syndrome, and pulmonary embolism. Additionally, Hollingsworth allegedly suffered other side effects from Yaz – gallbladder disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Yaz litigation charges failure to warn

The Hollingsworths filed Yaz litigation to seek damages for physical, financial and emotional losses related to Ms. Hollingsworth’s side effects. Their case claims that Bayer did not subject their drug to proper pre-market testing; that the pharmaceutical company provided only ambiguous warnings regarding the drug’s side effects; and failed to supply adequate warning labels. Hollingsworth stated that she had no way of knowing, prior to developing symptoms, of the medical risks associated with Yaz.

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