An Essure class action lawsuit is being brought against Bayer by many Australian women claiming they suffered extreme health effects from using Essure birth control implants.

Dozens of women have filed this Essure class action lawsuit because of an alleged failed contraceptive device that Bayer marketed and sold. According to a report by Australia’s ABC, at least 3,000 women there have been implanted with Essure. Other women are bringing similar legal claims in numerous countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Scotland.

Thousands of women have complained about serious complications after using an Essure device. They allege that they were not informed about side effects such as bloating, rashes, allergic reactions, excessive bleeding, organ perforation, pelvic pain, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

Essure Class Action Lawsuit Follows Market Withdrawal

Bayer recalled Essure from the Australian market after the country’s Therapeutic Goods Administration issued a hazard alert. They say that the main issue with the device is corrosion of the stainless steel exterior, which can expose women to the nickel inside. Some patients have reported reactions that they associate with a nickel allergy.

Women have also reported perforation of the uterus and dislocation of the device into the uterus or abdomen. One TGA investigator, Ebony Birchall, told ABC that “common between all of the women that I’ve spoken to are things like abdominal pain, stabbing pain to the ovaries, and irregular menstrual bleeding. A lot of the women I have spoken to have had to have a hysterectomy to try and overcome some of these symptoms.”

Dr. Bernadette White from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaeologists (RANZOG) told ABC she is not convinced that Essure could have been the cause of some symptoms that women reported.

Still, she said she hopes that facing the Essure class action lawsuit will compel Bayer to answer questions about Essure. She told ABC that “the medical experts that we’ve spoken to have indicated that the risk of the eventual corrosion of the device should have been foreseeable.”

Bayer, in its defense, said that Essure was placed on the Australian market only after going through TGA approval processes. According to a spokeswoman from Bayer, “While it was on the market Essure was maintained and updated in accordance with all health authority requirements…”

Bayer also stated that there were more than forty published studies that supported the assertion that Essure was safe. The company says its withdrawal of Essure from the Australian market in 2017 was due to low interest from patients.

It is still unknown how many women in Australia have allegedly been affected by the Essure device between 2005 and 2017. The Essure device is only the latest women’s health device to be subject to public concerns, as there have been others. RANZOG says that any woman with an Essure should contact their doctor if there are any concerns about symptoms.