Mirena Lawsuits Near 1,000 Benchmark as New Cases Skyrocket

There will soon be over 1,000 women who have filed Mirena lawsuits, alleging that the birth control device severely injured them after perforating their uterus and embedding in nearby organs. This benchmark is comprised of the women who have filed Mirena lawsuits in the federal and New Jersey state court systems.

Mirena gained popularity almost immediately when it was first released as the most effective form of birth control besides abstinence. However, Merck, the makers of Mirena, have already been in trouble before due to its Simple Style program which government agencies claimed overpromoted the benefits while under-reporting the risks.

Merck has long included warnings about perforation and/or embedment during the implantation of the intrauterine device (IUD), but there were never any warnings of spontaneous perforation or migration post-implant. Merck has allegedly not provided adequate warnings when it comes to Mirena risks, especially when it comes to serious internal injuries that scores of women have reported.

Multidistrict litigation (MDL) was formed to consolidate Mirena lawsuits in April 2013, with U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel of New York overseeing the Mirena MDL. So far, there are already hundreds of women and their partners who have joined the MDL and it’s expected that many more will follow suit.

Husbands Join the Wives in Suing Bayer

In some cases, the spouses of Mirena victims can also qualify for loss of consortium, since one person’s injury in a marriage can subsequently impact the other. There are cases of divorces being filed over Mirena injuries, and perforations can cause permanent infertility or cause a woman to be unable to enjoy sex again. The scars resulting from migration can cause serious, lifelong Mirena complications.

In some cases, multiple surgeries have been requires to attempt to remove the IUD, and each of these surgeries may be painful and expensive. Women without health care insurance are in a particularly tough situation. Sometimes there’s extreme pain associated with a migrated IUD, but other times there are no symptoms which can be even more dangerous.

Mirena Lawsuits Skyrocket in 2014

According to court documents, the number of new Mirena lawsuits filed has been skyrocketing lately. In fact, federal courts revealed a 20 percent increase in February 2014 alone. In the state of New Jersey, there are almost 600 pending Mirena IUD lawsuits, which forecasts a 10-percent spike in the next two weeks.

As more women become aware of their qualifications to join the Mirena MDL, or learn that they may have become a victim of a defective product, they’re taking advantage of the benefits that joining the Mirena MDL provides. For example, women can get a faster resolution but still enjoy an individual fair trial. Joining an MDL speed up the litigation process, providing a win-win and money/time-saving approach for both parties. It also helps ensure that every victim gets similar treatment, instead of different judges around the country coming to different conclusions.

It’s been estimated that “several thousand” Mirena IUD lawsuits will be filed by the time the Mirena MDL lawsuits go to trial.

The potential Mirena side effects are many, ranging from infection caused by migration to the perforation of internal organs. Women often get a follow-up check with their OBGYN a few weeks after implantation, but otherwise may not see their doctor until it’s time for the Mirena to be replaced (five years).

Recommendations for annual exams (pap smears) have been changing in recent years, and what was once an annual recommendation (which was likely covered by insurance) is now every three years. In other words, a woman with health insurance that covers annuals can only have their exam covered every three years if her last test was negative. Three years is a long time to go between checkups if Mirena does indeed have a tendency to migrate or perforate, as the many claims suggest.

Mirena’s History

Bayer originally introduced the Mirena IUD in 2000. There were many perceived upsides to the device, including the small amounts of hormones used, no need to remember to take a pill or swap out a monthly device, and was even asserted that Mirena led to a better sex life and clearer skin (although Bayer was forced by government agencies to change those claims).

Since then, there have been over 70,000 negative Mirena events reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of these, over 5,000 included reports of IUD migration since 2008 alone, and there were over 1,300 claims of Mirena puncturing the uterus. As a defense, Bayer has argued that there were indeed warnings of perforation, but it’s alleged that those claims were misleading or vague, suggesting that the warnings were really only about risks during insertion.

Do You Have a Mirena Story?

If you or a loved one had a Mirena IUD inserted after January 1, 2000 or later and had to have surgery – or will be required to have surgery – to have it remove because it migrated, you may be eligible to take legal action against the manufacturer. Filing a Mirena IUD lawsuit may help you recover compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering and other damages. See if you qualify by filling out the short form at the Birth Control Lawsuits: Mirena IUD Injury Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation.