Yaz & Yasmin Lawyers & Settlements

Most Yaz Lawsuits Will Be Settled By 2013

That’s the opinion of Stephen Salzburg, the special master in the Yaz litigation.  Keystone Progress reported the following on July 6th:

"So far, so good," he said of the status of the litigation. "I am cautiously optimistic that we will settle all of these cases. There are always some holdouts, but I think we will settle the bulk of these cases in the next year."

The article also reports that over 1,500 Yaz lawsuits have been settled so far for an average value of $214,000.  Of course, that’s an average, and “some of the more serious cases may get more while others might get less.”

The more serious cases include those cases in which a woman developed a DVT, suffered a pulmonary embolism, or had a stroke or heart attack related to a blood clot.  Salzburg notes that even though it’s the “most serious” cases that are currently settling, “the rest will go fairly quickly.”

At this point, we believe that any woman who suffered a serious pulmonary event such as a DVT or embolism while taking Yaz may be eligible for a Yaz settlement.  Contact us today if you’d like more information.

Yaz named as cause of blood clot in 2006 case report

A report published in 2006 in the medical journal Clinical and Applied Thombosis/Hemostasis reviews the case of a woman, aged 36 years, who came under the care of Dr. Y. Mira, presenting deep venous thromboses (blood clots) in the “left jugular and subclavian” veins.[1] Blood clots are a very serious occurrence, possibly leading to heart attack or stroke.

Because the patient had no family history of blood clotting,[2] and demonstrated no other risk factors, doctors concluded that the patient’s use of “Yazmin®,” a hormonal contraceptive containing drospirenone, known to place its users at a higher risk for the development of blood clots than other hormonal contraceptives, “was the only associated risk factor…,”[3] and likely caused the event.

Other oral contraceptives that contain drospirenone, and thus place women at a higher risk for blood clots, are YAZ®, Beyaz®, and Safyral®.

While this article did not describe in detail the biochemistry of how drospirenone causes blood clots, from it we learn that this chemical is known by the medical research community to be more dangerous than its “peer” chemicals, if you will, though it does not demonstrate increased efficacy in pregnancy prevention. As such, Dr. Mira’s piece may be used in a Yaz lawsuit to help provide evidence that the drugs Yaz®, Beyaz®, Safyal®, and Yazmin®, each place users at an unnecessarily high risk for serious adverse health effects.

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[1] “Ethinylestradiol/drospirenone Deep vein thrombosis: case report.” Case Report. Reactions Weekly 15 May 2010, No. 1301 © 2010 Adis Data Information BV; p. 23

[2] Ibid

[3] Mira, Y. (et al.) “Is Yasmin as safe as other contraceptive pills?” Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis 12:378-379, No. 3, Jul 2006.

Canadian Study Finds Contraceptives Like yaz to be more dangerous than others

The findings published in a 2011 edition of Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Gronich (et al.) performed a wide-scope population-based study to determine whether or not oral contraceptives containing the chemical drospirenone (such as YAZ®) placed women at a higher risk of developing a blood clot than did oral contraceptives without drospirenone.

For this study, the Gronich team used the digital health records databases of an Israeli healthcare provider to review 329,995 women who had not previously been diagnosed with a blood clot[1] and found that overall, the rate of blood clot development was about 6 in every 10,000 women, replicating the findings of Lidegaard (et al.) 2009, whose work is also summarized on this blog.

Compared to so-called second-generation oral contraceptives (levonogestrel and norgestrel), drospirenone use was found to place women at a 43% higher risk of blood clot.[2] And, compared to third-generation oral contraceptives desogestrel, gestodene, and norgestimate, drospirenone use was found to place women at a 65% higher risk of blood clot.[3]

Accordingly, the study concludes that “Use of drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives was associated with a significantly increased risk of venous thrombotic events (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) …”[4] The term “deep vein thrombosis” means blood clot in a large vein deep inside the body. “Pulmonary embolism” means a blood clot that has become mobile in the blood stream. Pulmonary embolism is indeed very dangerous, for if a traveling blood clot becomes lodged in the heart, one may have a heart attack, and if such a blood clot becomes lodged in the brain, one may have a stroke. Both these events are very serious and may be fatal.

Because of the striking findings it reports, a lawyer may use this article in a pharmaceutical lawsuit to demonstrate that women using drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives such as YAZ® are unduly placed at a higher risk of adverse health effects, for drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives are no more effective than other such contraceptives.

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[1] Gronich, N., et al. (2011) “Higher risk of venous thrombosis associated with drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives: a population-based cohort study” Canadian Medical Association Journal 183(18); p. 3-4

[2] Gronich, N., et al. (2011) “Higher risk of venous thrombosis associated with drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives: a population-based cohort study” Canadian Medical Association Journal 183(18); p.4

[3] Ibid

[4] Gronich, N., et al. (2011) “Higher risk of venous thrombosis associated with drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives: a population-based cohort study” Canadian Medical Association Journal 183(18); p.5

Yaz Settlements Top $142 Million Dollars

In its Stockholders’ Newsletter for the first quarter of 2012, Bayer reports that it has resolved 651 Yaz lawsuits for a total of $142 million, which averages $218,000 per settlement.  No one knows the total liability Bayer will face from Yaz lawsuits, but some analysts have speculated it will top $2 billion dollars.

The reason Bayer is choosing to settle so many cases is because it has some semblance of control over the process, as opposed to a jury trial, in which Bayer has no control over what a jury will do.  Sometimes predictability is so important to a company that it will settle cases it believes it could win.  And of course, sometimes a company is desperate to settle cases it knows it will lose.  There’s no way to tell which is the case with Bayer and Yaz, but the fact that Yaz settlements are occurring is good news to the thousands of women who were injured while taking the drug.

This news comes just weeks after the FDA ordered Bayer to strengthen the warnings on Yaz regarding the risk of developing serious blood clots while using the products.

More On the updated yaz warnings

Lawyers Weekly USA reported on April 18th about the updates warnings the FDA is requiring for the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin.  The article reports that some studies have shown a threefold risk of developing blood clots while taking Yaz.  Partially as a result of those studies, the FDA now states that “[h]ealth care professionals should consider the risks and benefits of drospirenone-containing birth control pills and a woman’s risk for developing a blood clot before prescribing these drugs.”  Drospirenone is one of the ingredients in Yaz, and is a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone.

The article also points out that Bayer has already settled 70 out of approximately 11,300 Yaz lawsuits currently pending. 

Bayer to pay 110 million to settle 500 yaz lawsuits

The pharmaceutical industry website FiercePharma reported on April 13th that Bayer will pay roughly $110 million to settle 500 Yaz lawsuits.  That works out to an average settlement of $220,000 per case.  To put those numbers in perspective, Yaz and Yasmin together are Bayer’s second-highest-grossing drugs, with 2010 revenue of $1.58 billion.

The settlements in this article are only for women who developed blood clots while taking Yaz.  Although there is evidence that Yaz can also cause gall bladder problems, Bayer is not settling those cases at this time.  Instead, they are settling clotting cases.  Perhaps not coincidentally, these settlements come not long after new studies show that Yaz and Yasmin increase the risk of developing blood clots.

As of February, Bayer had only entered into about 70 Yaz settlement agreements.  To jump from 70 to 500 clearly shows Bayer wants to resolve these cases.

More Coverage on the new FDA warning for yaz

The April 12th edition of the International Business Times News has an article entitled “Birth Control Pills Get New FDA Warning.”  That article discusses the new FDA warning for Yaz, Yasmin, and other birth control drugs that contain the synthetic hormone drospirenone.  The article explains that the risk of blood clots is increased when using these drugs:

For every 10,000 women who are not pregnant and do not use the pill, between one and five will develop a blood clot, the FDA said. Between three and nine out of every 10,000 women who use contraceptives will develop a blood clot, and between 40 and 65 women out of 10,000 will develop a blood clot within 12 weeks of giving birth, the organization said.

The article notes that depending upon the brand of birth control pills used, a woman could be three times as likely to develop a clot.  Most Yaz lawsuits also allege that Yaz increases a woman’s risk of developing a blood clot, a DVT, or a pulmonary embolism. 

Yaz lawyers like our firm are accepting cases from any woman who suffered a clotting-related injury while taking Yaz or Yasmin.  We can be reached at 888-315-3997.

No Yaz Class Action, Court Says

Something that confuses a lot of people is whether there is a Yaz class action lawsuit.  The women who were injured by Yaz are not actually eligible to be part of a class action lawsuit.  The reason why is boring and complicated, but in a nutshell the Supreme Court has held that personal injury lawsuits are not properly brought as class actions.  Instead, they are brought under what is called Multi-District Litigation, or an MDL.  To an injured woman, there is no real difference between an MDL or a class action – Yaz lawyers who represent her and other injured women will work to resolve her case.

However, there is one type of Yaz class action that some lawyers thought might be proper: A class action on behalf of women who purchased Yaz because of advertising they believed to be misleading.  So a Yaz lawyer asked the court to create a class action for women who wanted refunds of the money they spent on Yaz. 

Lawyers Weekly USA reported on March 26th that the request was shot down: “[T]he court concluded that the plaintiff could not meet the requirements for class certification under federal law.”  So there will be no Yaz class action and injured women will need to proceed under the Yaz MDL.

Terms like MDL and class action can be confusing – we know.  So if you’ve got questions, don’t be afraid to contact us and we’ll do our best to answer them.  We’re here to help and are always glad to do so.

70 Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits settled

Lawyers Weekly USA reported on March 8th that Bayer has settled “about 70” of over 11,000 lawsuits regarding Yaz and Yasmin:

"As of Feb. 13, 2012, Bayer had reached agreements, without admission of liability, to settle the claims of approximately 70 plaintiffs in the U.S. at terms and conditions which Bayer views to be reasonable," the company said in the legal risks section of its 2011 annual report. The terms of those settlements were not disclosed. “

The article further notes that the first Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits were scheduled to go to trial in September of 2011, but those trial dates were pushed back so the parties could mediate.  The fact that settlements are occurring is a good sign that the mediation is working.

11,300 Yaz and Yasmin Lawsuits Now Pending

Just a quick note – a report from Bayer shows that they  have been served with 11,300 Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits.  No word as to how many of those lawsuits allege gallbladder injuries vs. the more traditional clotting injuries.  But either way, that’s a lot of lawsuits for Bayer to deal with.