Bayer Facing Another Yaz Lawsuit Alleging Pulmonary Embolism

Dubbed a “fourth generation” birth control pill, Yasmin was once one of Bayer’s most popular drugs. Made up of drospirenone (a then new progestin) and ethinyl estradiol, it was marketed as better than the “third generation” birth control pills of the 1990s. Marketing claimed not only effectiveness, but extolled the benefits to a woman’s skin and her sex life. Millions of women bought into this messaging, but many found that not only was it untrue, but Yasmin, and its sister drug Yaz, had serious side effects.

As years passed, more has been learned about drospirenone and its link to deadly blood clots and related strokes. Recently, Illinois plaintiff Nicole Thorstenson joined the multitude of Yasmin lawsuits filed, suing Bayer for injuries and damages due to her ingestion of Yasmin.

Thorstenson was prescribed Yasmin by her doctor and took it according to the directions. On or about May 2011, she alleges in her Yaz lawsuit that she suffered a pulmonary embolism as a result of taking the birth control pill. This event resulted in “ongoing physical pain, and significant changes to her lifestyle, medical, health, incidental and related expenses, medical monitoring and/or medications, and the fear of developing additional health consequences.”

Thorstenson says she did not know, nor could she have reasonably discovered through due diligence that Yaz wrongfully caused her to suffer. She alleges in her Yaz lawsuit that Bayer and the other defendents knew or should have known that their product “created a higher risk of blood clots than other oral contraceptives on the market, and that, when taken as directed, such use was unreasonably dangerous to consumers.”

Allegations Keep Growing

When Bayer was over-promoting the benefits of Yasmin with its Simple Style Program, government agencies were forced to step in. Bayer had to change advertising tactics and stop the program, which targeted women with the inflated add-on benefits of the drug. However, the marketing damage was done, and user numbers skyrocketed.

Now, Bayer faces thousands of similar Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits, many with claims that echo Thorstenson’s.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) adverse event database includes a staggering number of serious event reports for injuries that are attributed to the ingestion of Yaz/Yasmin.

The numerous Yasmin lawsuits include allegations that women suffered blood clots, heart attacks, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolisms and even strokes. All of these injuries come with minimal red flags, and the plaintiffs all say they weren’t properly warned about Yasmin side effects.

The Yasmin lawsuits are part of a Yasmin multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the federal court system in Southern Illinois. An MDL allows a group of people who have suffered similar harm at the hands of the same defendant to come together in a group legal action. This merging helps streamline the legal process and prevent the legal system, plaintiffs, and defendants from having to deal with multitudes of individual lawsuits. While Thorstenson is filing her Yaz lawsuit independently, she has the potential to join the MDL facing Bayer.

Thorstenson is suing Bayer for design and manufacturing defect, inadequate warning, negligence, fraud, breach of express and implied warranty, and violation of applicable state consumer fraud and deceptive business practices.

The Yaz lawsuit is Nicole Thornstenson v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-10324-DRH-PMF in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois.

Join a Free Yaz Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or someone you know suffered a birth control blood clot injury such as a stroke, heart attack, deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism, you have legal options. See if you qualify for compensation by submitting your information for a free and confidential case evaluation:

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