Washington Woman Seeks Damages in Ocella DVT Lawsuit

Bertel claims in the Ocella lawsuit that her medical provider prescribed the birth control pill to her as a result of hearing about Ocella’s effectiveness and safety in 2008. Plaintiff Bertel continued to take her prescribed birth control medication until August of 2010, right before she was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis — a dangerous blood clot condition.  In addition to her immediate suffering, Bertel now faces increased future health risks from her DVT diagnosis, including the risk of pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke, and even death, the Ocella lawsuit says.

Bertel is suing Bayer for charges of negligence, false advertisement, misrepresenting a product, and manufacturing a defective product. She alleges that Bayer purposely deceived their consumers and is attempting to receive compensation for her medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.

Overview of Bayer’s Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella

Bayer manufactures and creates their own line of oral contraceptives known as Yasmin and Yaz, which were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing in 2001 and 2006. Ocella, a generic form of Yasmin, was approved in 2008.

Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella 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. Drospirenone was never before marketed in the U.S. prior to its use in Yasmin.

Since drospirenone is new, there is not as much data available to support its safe use as there are with second-generation progestins. Studies that were done prior to FDA approval, however, indicate that drospirenone has certain effects that can be potentially dangerous to the consumer. Drospirenone side effects include an increased risk of developing dangerous blood clots and related conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, heart attack and stroke.

Complications Caused by Ocella, Yasmin, Yaz Side Effects

During the brief time that Ocella, Yasmin and Yaz have been sold in the U.S., hundreds of reports of injury and death have been submitted to the FDA in association with Bayer’s products.

According to the Ocella lawsuit, “In April 2002, the British Medical Journal reported that the Dutch College of General Practitioners recommended that older second-generation birth control pills be prescribed instead of Yasmin as a result of 40 cases of venous thrombosis among women taking Yasmin.”

In February 2003, a paper entitled “Thromboembolism Associated With the New Contraceptive Yasmin” was published in the British Medical Journal detailing a Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre report of five additional reports of thromboembolism where Yasmin was suspected as the cause, including two deaths.  

“In fact, in less than a five-year period, over 50 reports of death among users of Yasmin and Yaz have been filed with the FDA,” the Ocella lawsuit continues. “These reports include deaths associated with cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, intracardiac thrombus, pulmonary embolism, and stroke in women in their child-bearing years.”

Some of these deaths were reported in women as young as 17 years old, the Ocella lawsuit states. Many reports of elevated potassium levels are frequently included among the symptoms of those suffering death while using Yasmin or Yaz.

Hundreds of product liability lawsuits have been filed against Bayer by Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella users who were injured by blood clots. These women say they were never warned about the true risk of drospirenone side effects and are suing Bayer for negligence and for deceptively marketing a dangerous product.

The current Ocella injury lawsuit is Dorell Bertel v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-10802-DRH-PMF in the U.S. District Court of Illinois.
 
Have You Been a Victim of Birth Control Blood Clot?

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a Yasmin, Ocella or Yaz injury, you have legal options. Please visit the Yaz/Yasmin, Beyaz & Ocella Birth Control Pill Class Action Lawsuit Settlement & Investigation. There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a skilled Yaz injury lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process with no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees. The Yasmin and Yaz injury lawyers working this investigation do not get paid until you do.