A Tennessee woman has recently filed an Essure lawsuit against Bayer Corp. and other companies for their alleged negligence in marketing the Essure contraception medical device to the public and the medical community.

Plaintiff Sonya W. claims she suffered painful Essure side effects and seeks compensation through an Essure lawsuit.

What is Essure?

Essure birth control is manufactured by Bayer Healthcare but was originally manufactured by Conceptus under the name Selective Tubal Occlusion Procedure.

The greatest benefit to women who use Essure is that it is a permanent and non-hormonal form of birth control.

Essure works by blocking the fallopian tubes and thereby avoiding conception. A small metal and polyester flexible coil is implanted in the fallopian tube during a non-surgical procedure through the vagina and uterus.

Tissue then grows around the flexible coil over a period of a few months which blocks the fallopian tube and prevents conception. Women must return to their doctor to see if the Essure device has successfully blocked the fallopian tube and any future pregnancy will be prevented.

Even though the Essure birth control device seems to be successful for many women, it also comes with possible Essure side effects. Women have raised complaints of rashes, excessive bleeding, organ perforation, pelvic pain, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

 An Essure Lawsuit Against Bayer

Sonya recently named Bayer Healthcare and other related Bayer companies in an Essure lawsuit claiming Bayer was not responsible in communicating relevant safety information about the Essure device to consumers and medical professionals.

After undergoing surgery to implant the Essure birth control device, Sonya began experiencing severe headaches, pelvic pain, migraines, hair loss, heavy menstrual periods and joint pain. She also, as a result of Essure complications, had to have a hysterectomy.

She claims she did not know about the possible side effects and complications before the Essure device was implanted.

The Essure lawsuit claims that Essure received what is called a Conditional Pre-Market Approval and that Conceptus was required to comply with certain requirements to continue marketing the device.

However, certain Essure complications became evident that Conceptus allegedly did not report to the FDA, according to Sonya’s lawsuit.

Some possible issues included the fact that the stainless steel in the device could rust or degrade, it could contain nickel rich oxide which the body attacks, Essure could leak nickel into the body and the device may contain trace lead.

In essence, they discovered that Essure had many issues and options for failure, however the defendants failed to report these to the FDA in a timely manner or at all.

Also, Sonya’s Essure lawsuit alleges the defendants became aware of serious adverse events such as bowel perforation, uterine or fallopian tube perforation and the Essure device breaking apart.

Between January 1, 2008 and May 2013, the defendants were receiving on average over 15 complaints each day about Essure, and thousands of complaints each year.

Allegedly, only a tiny fraction of these complaints were reported in a timely fashion to the FDA.

In her Essure lawsuit, Sonya claims that she would have never opted to have the Essure device implanted had she known about the thousands of complaints against Bayer and Essure, the vast majority of which were never reported to the public, the medical professionals or the FDA.

The Essure lawsuit raises claims of fraud, strict products liability, negligence and negligent failure to warn and calls for punitive damages.

Did you or a loved one suffer complications from Essure birth control? If so, you may be eligible to participate in a FREE class action lawsuit investigation. An Essure lawsuit could help you get compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

The Essure Lawsuit is Case No. 3:2016-cv-00286 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.