A group of women recently filed a collective Essure lawsuit against Bayer Inc., alleging that the company’s Essure birth control device is defective and caused significant injuries.

One plaintiff, a Colorado resident named Crystal C., claims in the Essure lawsuit that she first underwent the Essure procedure in May 2013 as a form of permanent birth control.

After Crystal received her Essure implant, she underwent a hysterosalpingogram (HSG), a test which determined that her Essure device was in the correct place, successfully blocking her fallopian tubes and able to prevent pregnancy.

However, according to the Essure lawsuit, Crystal became pregnant about four months after she was implanted with the Essure device.

Crystal’s daughter was born on June 21, 2014. Crystal then underwent tubal ligation surgery because of the Essure device’s failure.

However, the surgery did not involve removing the Essure implants from her body, and so remain inside her body to this day.

Other than the pregnancy with and birth of her daughter, which is a serious side effect in and of itself, Crystal alleges she suffered numerous other Essure complications.

Reportedly, Crystal experienced severe menstrual and abdominal pain after her Essure implantation. Her menstrual periods became extremely excessive. She also claims she suffered from weight fluctuation and nausea.

Crystal alleges in the Essure lawsuit that these symptoms began only after the Essure procedure.

The Essure lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, failure to warn, manufacturing defect, and several others.

The Essure Procedure

The procedure to get Essure implants is a popular method of permanent birth control. Essure was developed by Bayer Healthcare, and entered the market for permanent birth control methods in 1998.

In practice, the Essure device has two metal coils that are implanted into a woman’s fallopian tubes. In the months after the Essure procedure, the coils expand and allow tissue to grow around them, which will eventually result in completely blocked fallopian tubes.

This, according to Bayer, successfully prevents pregnancy permanently.

In fact, Bayer has marketed Essure as a safer, simpler and more effective method of permanent birth control than other options available to women.

Essure Complications

Potential Essure birth control problems could have an effect on thousands of women. In 2007 alone, approximately 700,000 American women underwent tubal ligation.

Thousands of these women would later file adverse event reports related to Essure complications. Some went further, and have filed an Essure lawsuit against Bayer.

Crystal’s Essure lawsuit, and similar lawsuits against Bayer, allege that the medical device manufacturer either knew or should have known about the Essure problems linked with its product.

Several Essure problems have been reported in adverse event reports and lawsuits. These side effects include, but are not limited to:

• Bloating
• Rashes
• Allergic reactions
• Excessive bleeding
• Organ perforation
• Pelvic pain
• Miscarriage
• Ectopic pregnancy

Filing an Essure Lawsuit

If you or someone you know has suffered from any of these Essure problems after being implanted with the Essure birth control device, including an unwanted pregnancy, you may be able to file an Essure lawsuit.

The Essure Lawsuit is Case No. 2:16-cv-02154, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.