A Georgia woman filed a Yaz birth control lawsuit against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., alleging that the oral contraceptive caused her to suffer a pulmonary embolism.
Plaintiff Alison Hall filed her Yaz lawsuit on Jan. 2, 2014 after surviving a blood clot that she says was caused by Bayer’s product. Hall began taking Yaz in May 2011 and on Jan. 31, 2012, she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot in a person’s lung. Pulmonary embolisms can be deadly, if not caught in time.
According to Hall’s Yaz lawsuit, the oral contraceptive contains a new type of progestin called drospirenone.
“A dangerous effect of drospirenone is that it acts as a diuretic, which can cause an increase in potassium levels in the blood,” the complaint states. ” This can lead to a condition known as hyperkalemia if the potassium levels become too high.
“Hyperkalemia can cause heart rhythm disturbances, such as extrasystolies, pauses, or bradycardia . . . . If hyperkalemia disrupts the normal heart rhythms, the flow of blood through the heart can be slowed to the point that it permits blood clots to form. Blood clots in the heart can then lead to heart attacks, or the clots can break off and travel to the lungs where they can cause pulmonary embolism, or can travel to the brain causing stroke. The diuretic nature of drospirenone also attributes to blood clot formation elsewhere in the body,” the Yaz lawsuit says.
There are some cases where Yaz side effects turn deadly. If a blood clot isn’t caught in time and it gets to the head or lungs, little can be done to save the victim. Even worse, sometimes blood clots have no symptoms that the patient is aware of, which means they may not seek medical help.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of women as young as 17 dying of Yaz complications, and many other reports of women being seriously injured.
Ever since oral contraception was made available in the 1960s, there’s been a risk of blood clots which can lead to pulmonary embolisms, strokes and other potentially deadly problems.
However, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Yasmin, said that wouldn’t be the case with Yasmin when it first came on the market. It was supposed to be safer than the “third generation” birth control pills which were available in the 1990s, and allegedly came with other benefits such as clearer skin and an improved sex life.
However, the throngs of women who have been reporting pulmonary embolisms and/or blood clots with this oral contraceptive are so many that a Yasmin multidistrict litigation has been formed.
Did Bayer Know the Risks?
According to Hall’s Yaz lawsuit, Bayer knew the pill was riskier than advertised, but chose to hide those facts.
“[Bayer] knew or should have known that the use of drospirenone [Yaz] causes arrhythmia, cardiac arrest/heart attack, intracardiac thrombus, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, stroke, and/or gallbladder disease, which can require surgical intervention,” Hall claims.
According to the lawsuit, “hundreds of reports of injury and death have been submitted to the FDA in association with Bayer’s products.”
In addition to the reports made to the FDA, studies have also shown that Yaz and similar birth control pills such as Yasmin have been linked to blood clots.
“In April 2002, the British Medical Journal reported that the Dutch College of General Practitioners recommended that older second generation birth control pills be prescribed in lieu of Yasmin® as a result of 40 cases of venous thrombosis among women taking Yasmin,” the lawsuit explains.
Hall’s charges against Bayer include defective manufacturing, design defect, defect due to inadequate warning, negligence, fraud, breach of warranties, violations of applicable state consumer fraud laws and violations of state deceptive business practices acts.
The Yaz lawsuit is Alison Hall v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al, MDL No.: 2100, in the United States District Court Southern District of Illinois.
Free Yaz Lawsuit Legal Review
If you or someone you know took Yaz, Yasmin or another similar birth control pill and had a blood clot or lost someone to a pulmonary embolism, you might have a Yaz legal claim. Learn more information about possible legal action at the Birth Control Lawsuits: Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, Gianvi, Ocella Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. There an attorney will contact you if you qualify for a free Yaz claim review.
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