Yaz & Yasmin Lawyers & Settlements

October 2012 Yaz Lawsuit & Settlement Update From Justinian Lane

As of October of 2012, Bayer has settled close to 2,000 Yaz lawsuits for close to $500 million dollars.  Bayer has set aside hundreds of millions more to settle the roughly 12,000 Yaz lawsuits currently pending. 

The only lawsuits Bayer is settling are those lawsuits in which a woman suffered from one of the following injuries:

• Thrombosis (Blood clot)
• Pulmonary Embolism or Thromboembolism
• Stroke or heart attack triggered by thrombosis

We are Yaz lawyers who are accepting cases from any woman who suffered any of the above-listed injuries or other similar injuries.  We are also accepting cases from family members who lost a loved one due to one of the injuries listed above.

The average Yaz settlement has been about $212,000 to date.  Some women receive more, and some women receive less, but that depends upon the extent of the injuries suffered.  We are happy to discuss the settlement range with you if you think you may qualify for a Yaz settlement.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to call us.  My name is Justinian Lane and I am the attorney in charge of Yaz litigation for our law firm. I can be reached at 888-315-3997.  You can also e-mail me at [email protected].  If I am unavailable, I will return your call within 24 hours unless I am in court.  If that's the case, I will have Amber, my settlements manager return your call.

Please be aware that a woman who suffered an injury while taking Yaz has only a limited amount of time to file a Yaz lawsuit or seek a Yaz settlement.  The amount of time varies from state to state.  Even if you don't call us, please call at least one lawyer to make sure you know when your deadline is up.

Dangerous Drugs Blog Redesigned

For more on Yaz lawyers and lawsuits, you can also visit Dangerous Drugs, the main blog I publish relating to dangerous and defective drugs and devices.  That site has additional coverage of Yaz.

New Yaz Lawsuit Filed in California

Injury Lawyer News reports today that another lawsuit against Bayer, the maker of Yaz, was filed on September 6th of 2012.  The Yaz lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court for Los Angeles County, and alleges that misleading advertising caused the plaintiff to believe that Yaz was safe and superior to other brands of birth control.

The article states that more than 1,200 women have filed Yaz lawsuits – I suspect that’s a typo as the number is actually over 12,000.  Many of those lawsuits will end in a settlement.  So far, Bayer has paid out over $400 million to women who developed a DVT, a pulmonary embolism, or had a stroke or a heart attack while taking Yaz.

A Yaz lawsuit is not always necessary for a woman to receive a settlement.  Give us a call today at 888-315-3997 if you’re interested as to what your options are regarding a Yaz settlement. 

American Journal of Nursing Shows Oral Contraceptives Containing Drospirenone are More Dangerous than Others

The “Drug Watch” section of the September, 2012 edition of the American Journal of Nursing includes some startling information about hormonal contraceptive drugs containing the chemical drospirenone, such as YAZ,® Beyaz®, Safyral®, and Yasmin®.

Reviewing several studies comparing the relative risks of developing a blood clot for women using drospirenone-containing hormonal contraceptives versus women using other hormonal contraceptives, including one funded by the FDA itself, the American Journal of Nursing writes, “the FDA has concluded that there is an increased risk of blood clots if the contraceptive drospirenone; the increased risk may be as much as three times higher.”[1] (emphasis added)

Blood clots can be very dangerous, possibly resulting in stroke or heart attack. Thankfully, the article goes on to note that these drugs now contain such warnings on their packaging,[2] but I ask, why use any drug that has been found to be more dangerous than others with no increase in efficacy?  A Bayer executive begrudgingly admitted to the FDA that Yaz is no more effective at preventing pregnancy than competing pills. 

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[1] “Drug Watch” American Journal of Nursing September 2012. Vol. 112, No. 9; p. 24

[2] Ibid.

Bayer Has Settled Over 1,800 Yaz Lawsuits

Law Firm Newswire reported on August 20th that Bayer has already settled roughly 1,877 Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits.  The total amount of Yaz settlements is over $400 million dollars, putting an average settlement value at around $200,000 dollars.

There have been over 12,000 Yaz lawsuits filed since 2009.  Most of those lawsuits are being handled in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.  You can contact one of our Yaz lawyers for a detailed explanation of why the lawsuits are being handled there, but it is basically because a Yaz class action lawsuit wouldn’t be appropriate for all of the injured women.

Bayer is only settling those cases in which a woman can prove a pulmonary embolism, a deep vein thrombosis, or other heart events triggered by a blood clot. 

Yaz and Yasmin Lawsuit Settlements May Hit $1.2 Billion Dollars

The August 7th edition of Lawyers Weekly USA reports that one of Bayer’s recent stock filings indicates it could pay out as much as $1.2 billion dollars to settle the 12,325 Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits it is facing.  Publicly traded companies have to issue quarterly updates to their stockholders, and those updates have to inform investors about risks facing the company.  Those updates also have to be true – companies cannot lie to their investors.  So it is a very real possibility that Bayer will pay close to $1.2 billion to settle the various Yaz lawsuits pending against it right now.

That $1.2 billion figure is based upon the assumption that future settlements will be for similar dollar amounts as previous settlements.  Bayer has settled almost 1,900 cases for an average value of about $200,000 dollars.  The only cases Bayer is settling are those in which a woman developed a blood clot or complications from a blood clot, such as an embolism, a stroke, or a heart attack.

Anyone who has questions about whether they are eligible for a lawsuit or a settlement can call us toll-free at 888-315-3997 and we’ll be happy to help.

Yaz Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Women Who Lost Leg After Deep Vein Thrombosis

Business Wire reported on August 6th that a woman who had to have her leg amputated after developing a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) has filed a Yaz lawsuit against Bayer.  Like all Yaz lawsuits, this lawsuit alleges that Bayer failed to properly warn women that Yaz increases the risk of blood clots, DVT’s, embolisms, heart attacks, and strokes. 

This unfortunate woman contacted a Yaz lawyer because the complications of her DVT required her to undergo a leg amputation.  The average settlement value for a Yaz case has been close to $200,000.  But the average injury does not include a leg amputation.  One would suspect that this woman will receive a larger settlement due to the life-changing nature of her injuries.

This case illustrates the fact that each Yaz case is different, and any woman injured by Yaz should contact a good law firm for help.  We’re happy to offer a free consultation over the phone, by e-mail, or in person.  You can reach us at 888-315-3997.

Over 13,000 Women Make Claims Against Maker of Yaz

PR Newswire reported on August 2nd that there are 13,530 women with claims pending against Bayer over side effects of the drug Yaz.  This number is higher than the often-reported number of 12,000 Yaz lawsuits pending against Bayer.  That’s because not every woman who is seeking a settlement from Bayer has filed a lawsuit against the company.

Lawyers representing women injured by Yaz can sometimes seek a settlement without having to file a lawsuit.  One reason that is so in these cases is because Bayer is aggressively settling with women who developed a blood clot while using Yaz.  Because Bayer is so interested in settling those cases, it can choose to settle with a woman before she files a lawsuit.  There are advantages and disadvantages to seeking a settlement prior to filing a lawsuit. We’re happy to explain what those advantages and disadvantages are – just give us a call or contact us with the form on the right.

Bayer’s Earnings Suffer Due to Yaz Lawsuits

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Bayer’s earnings were 33% lower than last year because of charges associated with Yaz lawsuits.  That’s because Bayer had to set aside over $600 million dollars to cover payouts in Yaz lawsuits now and in the future.

The good news for investors is that despite a$600 million hit, Bayer’s revenues rose by 10% and it raised its outlook for the full year.  Yaz has been a very profitable drug for Bayer, due in no small part to the aggressive advertising campaign the company launched and then had to modify due to oversight by the FDA.

Although the total amount of Yaz settlements will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars – perhaps even over $1 billion – the company can still look at the settlements as nothing more than the cost of doing business.  That’s a shame considering how many young women have had their lives destroyed because they were seriously injured while taking Yaz.

Yaz Lawsuit Settlements Exceed $400 Million to Date

Pharmagossip reported today that “settlements of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its Yasmin line of birth-control pills caused blood clots in women have increased to more than $402 million.”  The actual figure is $402.6 million dollars, and the average settlement value has been $212,000 per case. 

Even bigger news is that Bayer has set aside over $610 million dollars to handle settlements of these cases.  Bayer expects the number of lawsuits over Yaz to grow, and it obviously expects to continue making settlements in these cases.  No one knows the total amount Bayer will pay to settle these cases, but stock analyst Richard Vosser of JPMorgan Chase & Co has “said Bayer may be forced to pay more than 2 billion euros to resolve all the cases over the contraceptives.”  Bayer has only set aside not-quite 500 million euros, so that would be a fourfold increase in the amount Bayer expects to pay.

Right now Bayer is only settling those cases in which a woman suffered a Yaz side effect related to blood clots, such as a pulmonary embolism or a DVT.  At this time, Bayer is not settling cases for women who suffered kidney damage while using Yaz.

Almost 10,000 Yaz Lawsuits Filed To Date

The Madison County Record reported on July 24th that there have been over 9,800 Yaz lawsuits filed in federal court.  The Record quotes Chief U.S. District Judge David Herndon (who is in charge of the Yaz litigation) as stating that Yaz cases “have been settling at a consistent rate.”  The average amount of a settlement was reported at $214,000 dollars – that’s based on roughly 1,500 settlements and a total settlement amount of about $300 million dollars.

Law professor Stephen Saltzburg predicted some time ago that more Yaz lawsuits would be filed once word of the settlements got out – and he was right.  Cases are being filed at an increasing rate and more Yaz lawyers are accepting cases.  Although there is no indication that Yaz settlement money is going to run out soon, anyone interested in a settlement should contact a good lawyer sooner rather than later to avoid lengthy delays as other women file lawsuits.

Our firm is happy to speak to any woman who suffered injuries while taking Yaz.  We believe we will be able to obtain settlements for any woman who developed a serious blood clot or had an embolism while taking Yaz.  Our toll-free number is 888-315-3997.