Bayer Healthcare reportedly spent millions to pay doctors Essure-related consulting fees, a controversial method that suggests doctors may be encouraged to prescribe Essure sterilization more often due to monetary incentives rather than because it’s what is best for the patient’s health and safety.

However, Bayer recently removed Essure sterilization from the U.S. market due to serious side effects. Given these side effects, the concern that doctors may have been influenced to push Essure sterilization is even greater.

Basics of Essure Sterilization

Bayer’s Essure birth control has become so popular that the device has been implanted in around 750,000 women so far, since its FDA approval in 2002 (when it was created by Conceptus Inc.). Essure was designed as an alternative form of birth control to offer those who want to prevent pregnancy long-term but who may not want to undergo surgical tubal ligation.

The Essure system is made up of two metal coils and a fabric lining, which are placed in the fallopian tubes. Implantation of the Essure device is designed to be done in a doctor’s office without invasive surgery. After this initial procedure, it takes two to three months for the Essure coils to expand in place, allowing the surrounding tissue to grow in around them. This is meant to completely block the fallopian tubes, preventing pregnancy.

Bayer Healthcare has continuously marketed Essure sterilization as a safer, simpler, and more effective method of permanent birth control than other options currently available, lawsuits claim. However, more and more patients claim that they have suffered from significant Essure birth control side effects after implantation with the device.

Pushing Essure Sterilization

According to a recent CNN report, federal data showed millions of dollars paid by Bayer to thousands of doctors for Essure consulting fees and other similar services. According to the report, patients referred to their doctors as “cheerleaders” for Essure sterilization. “I felt like she was very pushy,” one patient said. A year later, that patient began suffering from Essure side effects, including headaches, joint pain, abdominal cramping, and fatigue.

Filing an Essure Lawsuit

In the United States, Bayer has decided to end the sales of its Essure device. The company claims its decision to do so is directly related to a decrease in sales, rather than because of any complications.

Thousands of lawsuits have already been filed in the United States over Essure complications, alleging that Bayer failed to adequately warn about the device’s risks. Lawsuits have cited a number of serious side effects, including device failure, device migration, organ perforation, device fracture, and ectopic pregnancy, among others.

Some more major Essure sterilization side effects may require device removal. Unfortunately, removal surgery can bring with it its own complications. Surgery is further complicated if a patient has suffered from Essure birth control side effects like device fracture or migration, which can make removal far more difficult, sometimes necessitating a complete hysterectomy.

If you or someone you love has suffered from side effects after implantation with Essure, you may be able to file an Essure sterilization lawsuit against Bayer. Filing an Essure device lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused the birth control device, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.