Woman Files Yaz Birth Control Lawsuit After Suffering a Stroke

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A Washington, D.C. woman has filed a Yaz lawsuit against Bayer Pharmaceuticals after continued use of the birth control product Yaz allegedly caused her to experience a stroke and other health problems.

On January 2008, plaintiff Sharon Paez was prescribed Yaz by her healthcare provider, which she took as an oral contraceptive to prevent pregnancy and also as a treatment for other menstrual complaints such as acne, cramps, and PMS.

“Plaintiff Sharon Paez has suffered and continues to suffer from serious injuries, including, but not limited to, pain and suffering, physical injuries, disability, significant disfigurement, embarrassment, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expenses of hospitalization, medical and nursing care treatment, loss of earnings, loss of the ability to earn money in the future, and a shortened life span,” the Yaz birth control lawsuit says.

Paez and her legal representatives allege that Bayer Pharmaceuticals’ failure to warn Paez and other consumers of the dangers of Yaz puts the company at fault for negligence, design defect, false advertising, defective warning, and loss. She is seeking $750,000 in damages and compensation for pain and suffering.

Overview of Yaz Birth Control

Yaz (and its sister products Yasmin and Ocella) was introduced in the American market in 2001. Yasmin and Yaz birth control pills are an estrogen and progestin based combination oral contraceptives (COCs) designed to suppress ovulation, fertilization, and implantation of fertilized ovum to ultimately prevent pregnancy. However, while Yasmin, Yaz, and Ocella are marketed similarly to other oral contraceptives on the market, these Bayer products contain drospirenone, a type of progestin not found in any other birth control in the United States.

Bayer promoted its product, claiming it provided “the same efficacy as other birth control pills in preventing pregnancy, but with additional benefits.” However, on July 10, 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration objected to Bayer’s marketing claim that Yaz products containing drospirenone are more effective or beneficial than other types of progestin-based birth control drugs. In fact, a public warning was issued, stating, “the FDA is not aware of substantial evidence of substantial clinical experience demonstrating that Yasmin is superior to other COCs or that the drospirenone in Yasmin is clinically beneficial. On the contrary, FDA is aware of the added clinical risks associated with drospirenone.”

On Oct. 3, 2008, Bayer Pharmaceuticals was issued a warning by the FDA for misleading advertising and for promoting Yaz as a treatment for medical conditions not approved by the FDA, such as acne and PMS.

Yaz Birth Control Side Effects

Recent FDA studies also demonstrate that drospirenone has potentially dangerous Yaz side effects, including blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes.

Like many consumers, Paez says she was influenced by Bayer’s false advertisements, which “created in her mind a sense that Yasmin, Yaz, and/or Ocella provided greater benefits than other oral birth control medications, while reassuring [Paez] that Yasmin, Yaz, and/or Ocella were as safe, if not safer, than all other available oral contraceptives.”

Like Paez, other Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella consumers have also suffered mental anguish and emotional distress. In the future, they allege they will continue to suffer physical limitations, pain, injury, damages, harm, and mental and emotional distress. Many consumers claim that if they had known the risks of taking Yaz and Yasmin products, they and their physicians would have pursued and prescribed another form of birth control.

Join a Free Yaz Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or someone you know suffered a birth control blood clot injury such as a stroke, heart attack, deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism, you have legal options. See if you qualify for compensation by submitting your information for a free and confidential case evaluation:

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