More than a dozen Essure birth control lawsuits have been cleared to proceed in the state system, according to a California federal judge.

This comes after a number of similar Essure birth control lawsuits have been dismissed due to preemption laws.

The judge, Superior Court Judge Winifred Y. Smith, ruled on August 2 that 14 Essure birth control lawsuits would be able to proceed.

All of these Essure birth control lawsuits involve women claiming that, due to the Essure birth control procedure, they suffered serious injuries and complications.

Bayer, Essure’s manufacturer, attempted to have these Essure birth control lawsuits tossed, but the judge rejected its arguments, allowing other women in California to pursue Essure birth control lawsuits against Bayer.

Essure birth control lawsuits have been filed against Bayer on multiple counts, including failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, and misrepresentation claims.

Bayer has been facing a growing number of Essure birth control lawsuits in federal courts as well as state. Recently, Bayer faced around 30 Essure birth control lawsuits filed on behalf of over 1,000 individual plaintiffs.

Essure Background

Essure birth control coils have become an increasingly popular method of permanent birth control.

Essure was first released onto the market by Bayer Healthcare after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval in 1998.

The Essure device consists of two metal coils which are implanted into a woman’s fallopian tubes. After implantation, it takes several months for the coils to effectively prevent pregnancy. During this time, the tissue around the coils grows, eventually blocking access to the fallopian tubes altogether and preventing pregnancy.

Essure Procedure Side Effects

The plaintiffs involved in these Essure birth control lawsuits claim the procedure caused a number of significant side effects, including but not limited to the following:

• device migration
• hysterectomy
• abdominal pain
• pelvic pain
• back pain
• bloating
• weight gain
• heavy menstrual bleeding
• irregular menstrual cycles
• perforated organs
• ectopic pregnancy

Filter migration and organ perforation are two of the most dangerous Essure procedure side effects. If the Essure device migrates from its placement, it can perforate nearby organs, leading to some very dangerous complications.

Essure Birth Control Lawsuits

Problems with the Essure procedure could potentially impact thousands of women. In 2007 alone, around 700,000 American underwent tubal ligation procedures.

According to this complaint and others like it, plaintiffs, the public, and the medical community were not adequately warned about the potentially severe Essure procedure side effects linked with the device.

Instead, Bayer Healthcare has continuously marketed Essure as a safer, simpler, and more effective method of permanent birth control than other options currently available to women, Essure birth control lawsuits claim.

Essure birth control lawsuits claim that Bayer Healthcare either knew or should have known about the serious risks linked with their product, including organ perforation, ectopic pregnancy, heavy bleeding, and pain.

If you or someone you love has suffered from any of these Essure procedure side effects or others after being implanted with the Essure birth control device, you may be able to join other injured women filing these Essure birth control lawsuits.