In California, a judge has paved the way for dozens of Essure injury cases to be coordinated by issuing a case management order recently.

Judge Winifred Smith of Alameda County issued the order in December 2016. The order designates which lawyers hold which responsibilities for legal procedures and lays out coordination efforts and broader litigation strategies. The attorneys in the Essure injury cases are attempting to streamline pretrial procedures for the dozens of California cases.

One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys said, “We think it’s important that these women have their claims resolved as quickly as they can be.”

The law in California states that if two or more civil cases in different counties “share common questions of fact or law” the coordination allows them to be brought to a single court before a single judge.

Then, the judge’s ruling applies to all cases. This process will keep the Essure injury cases separate and avoid conflicting judgments.

Another attorney for the plaintiffs has said that they would like to see the trials for the Essure injury cases started within a year.

Many women are represented in these Essure injury cases and number in the “multiple hundreds.” Because of the fact that women continue to file Essure injury cases, the number is still climbing. A definitive number of women who have filed cannot be verified. Some of these continue to be added to the Essure injury cases.

California is not the only state wading through Essure injury cases. Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed against Essure manufacturer, Bayer, in Missouri, North Carolina and other states.

Essure is the only form of non-surgical permanent birth control, Bayer claims. It is a medical device made up of a set of small, metal coils that are placed within each fallopian tube.

Scar tissue forms around each coil, thus blocking the eggs from being fertilized. Bayer claims that Essure is 99% effective.

It was approved by the FDA on November 4, 2004. Between that date and December 31, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration has received nearly 10,000 adverse event reports related to Essure. These include 4 adult deaths.

Some reported complications associated with Essure are sharp abdominal pains, heavier periods and the device breaking and/or moving. Some women have even had to undergo hysterectomies because of Essure complications.

Bayer has responded and noted that even though the state allowed the cases to be coordinated, the judge’s order was “not a ruling on the merits of the alleged claims, which plaintiffs still must attempt to plead and prove.”

In essence, just because the judge put the Essure injury cases together, Bayer does not believe it means anything for the individual claims.