Yaz Lawsuit Accuses Bayer of Failing to Warn of Stroke Risk

A North Carolina woman has filed a Yaz lawsuit against drug maker Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. after suffering from a stroke which she alleges was caused by the oral contraceptive.

According to the Yaz lawsuit, plaintiff Kelley Stadler began taking the Yaz birth control pill in October 2009. She took the  oral contraceptive for several months when she allegedly suffered from a stroke and other injuries.

As a result, Stadler says she had to be hospitalized and incurred steep medical costs. It was allegedly not until 22 months after the event occurred that she spoke with an attorney and was made aware that Yaz was linked to blood clots, which can cause problems like strokes.

Because of the stroke, the North Carolina woman “will continue to suffer physical limitations, pain, injury, damages, harm, and mental and emotional distress in the future,” according to the Yaz lawsuit.

Yaz and Yasmin, which is also manufactured and marketed by Bayer, are combination oral contraceptives, which means that they contain both estrogen and progestin, which work together to prevent pregnancy.

However, “Yasmin and Yaz are different from other combined hormonal birth control pills in that they contain drospirenone, a progestin that is unlike other progestins available in the United States and was never before marketed in the United States prior to its use in Yasmin,” Stadler’s Yaz lawsuit states.

In 2003, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration began issuing warnings of the potential risks associated with Yaz/Yasmin birth control pills. There appeared to be an increase in blood clots, which can cause strokes, gallbladder problems, pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis.

These risks came to light after two studies were released. One was released in April 2002, when the British Medical Journal reported a study showing that Yasmin should no longer be prescribed after 40 cases of venous thrombosis were found among women taking the drospirenone-containing contraceptive. A venous thromboembolism is when a blood clot forms in a vein somewhere else in the body. There was another article published in the same journal in February 2003 with more reports, including two deaths.

>>Birth Control Lawsuits Grow

Stadler’s Yaz lawsuit claims that the oral contraceptives are unreasonably dangerous to those who use them, although Bayer continues to market and sell the contraceptives. She is asking for compensatory damages to cover the pain and suffering that she experienced as the result of her injuries. She is also asking for punitive damages and exemplary damages as well as compensation for her medical expenses and other economic damages.

Stadler is charging Bayer with strict liability, defective marketing, defect in design or formulation, defect due to inadequate warning, defect due to nonconformance with representations, defect due to failure to adequately test, negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation and fraud.

The Yaz lawsuit is Kelley Stadler v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-10772-DRH-PMF, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

If you or someone you know has had similar injuries as the result of taking Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella or Beyaz oral contraceptives, legal options are available. Learn more and get a free legal consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Yaz/Yasmin, Ocella & Beyaz Birth Control Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation. Experienced legal professionals have access to medical experts to assess whether or not these birth control pills may have played a role in the development of your blood clot, stroke, pulmonary embolism or gall bladder problems, so act now.