Mirena IUD Bellwether Trials Deferred 60 Days

The bellwether trials in the Mirena MDL have been pushed back 60 days by a New York federal judge, which were originally scheduled to begin in April 2014. There are over 1,000 women in the Mirena MDL, pursuing product liability lawsuits against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals for injuries allegedly caused by the birth control device.

The change was made by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel of the Southern District of New York, who ordered the deferment on Feb. 26. Originally, the bellwether trials were scheduled to start on April 4 and all discovery was expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2014.

Now, the pretrial proceedings are not expected to be completed until July 15, 2015. This is when expert witnesses will be brought in to help explain the Mirena risks and how exactly the IUD works.

In bellwether trials, a few key cases are selected which are meant to to see how their lawsuits will measure up in the courtroom. It is an also a chance to see if there are any cracks in the claims or how the judge or jury will respond to the allegations.

Mirena IUD lawsuits allege that the popular birth control device, which releases small amounts of hormones, is actually much more dangerous than drug makers warned about on the packaging.

In fact, so many Mirena lawsuits have been filed against Bayer, alleging that the IUD perforates organs and tissues and/or migrates out of the uterus, that multidistrict litigation has been created to consolidate the cases.

Bayer is already under watch by the U.S Food and Drug Administration for problems with Mirena, which claims that the company overpromoted the benefits of Mirena while downplaying the risks.

Bayer marketed the Mirena IUD, in a marketing campaign called the Simple Style Program, saying it could improve a woman’s sex life and lead to clearer skin. According to the FDA, even those claims went too far.

The Mirena IUD lawsuits claim that not only was the IUD over-promoted, but that it is also over dangerous.

Mirena was first introduced to the market in 2000 and came with an “aggressive” marketing campaign, according to the complaints. It was marketed as “hassle-free” since it wasn’t a pill or removable device (at least not removable by the patients).

The Mirena IUD is implanted in the uterus during a quick doctor’s visit and is good for up to five years. It does contain small amounts of hormones, which is why Bayer touted it as also having the ability to clear skin. According to Mirena complaints, that side effects were much more serious than Bayer suggested.

Bayer did include a warning that the IUD could migrate/perforated during implantation, but the risk of that happening afterwards (sometimes years later) was never mentioned.

The Risks of Mirena

Both women and their doctors have reported to the FDA that Mirena can and has migrated after implantation in some women. It may perforate the uterus or nearby organs. This can lead to infections or abscesses, and in some cases has rendered young women infertile. Other women say the scarring has rendered them unable to have pleasure during sex, and there are some divorce cases where both parties cite Mirena as the cause of the divorce.

Mirena has been available for 14 years, and in that time 70,000 cases of “adverse events” have been reported to the FDA. Of those, 5,000 say that Mirena migrated since 2008 alone. Another 1,322 say Mirena punctured the uterus. However, there may be more instances that have not been reported.

As for Bayer, the company says the perforation risk was indeed included, but victims say those warnings were “misleading” and “vague.” They also say it was suggested that the risk was only there during implantation. If no agreement is reached post-bellwether, hundreds of Mirena lawsuits may be sent back to federal courts for individual trials to be set.

Do You Have a Mirena Complaint?

If you or some one you know was injured by the Mirena IUD, it may not be too late to file a Mirena legal claim. Read more when you visit the Birth Control Lawsuits: Mirena IUD Injury Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation today. Once your information is received, a lawyer will be in touch if you qualify for a free Mirena claim review.