Yaz Lawsuits — Settlements Estimated to Be Into the Billions

Bayer is in a unique position for liability when it comes to hormone related birth control side effects. Yaz lawsuits hinge on the fact that the birth control contains a unique synthetic hormone. This hormone, drospirenone, is not found in other common birth control pills, making related side effects more definitively tied to the use of Yasmin and Yaz.

Women using Yaz birth control can suffer serious side effects, including:

* Blood clots
* Strokes
* Heart attack
* Pulmonary embolism
* Deep vein thrombosis

These Yaz side effects may take the form of obvious life-threatening events, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, or may be the more subtle arterial blood clots. Arterial blood clots carry larger long-term risks for patients but may not be immediately evident as a side effect.

Large Number of Yaz Lawsuits Filed

The popularity of Yasmin and Yaz is another issue for Bayer in terms of the number of potential lawsuits it faces over blood clot injuries. Bayer was not treating a small market, but rather hundreds of thousands of patients. As a result, Bayer’s second quarter 2012 newsletter noted that there were more than 12,325 Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits underway, with the potential for more to be filed.

In response to the large number of complaints about Yaz birth control, the FDA determined in December 2011 that warning labels on both Yaz and Yasmin needed to be strengthened. The agency also stated that new studies are needed to adequately re-assess the dangers of blood clots for patients who are taking hormonal birth control. However, there is no fixed start date for these follow-up studies to specifically address blood clot risks, and Bayer continues to market both Yaz and Yasmin birth control products to women.

Millions Paid in Yaz Settlements to Date

As of July 19, 2012, Bayer has already paid out more than $402 million in Yasmin/Yaz lawsuit settlements. These settlements represent 1,877 lawsuits, or just over 10% of all the cases that have been filed against Bayer. Yet only one-third of the total estimate settlement funds — $1.2 billion – have been distributed, making it unclear how Bayer intends to distribute settlement funds for the 90% of Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits still working their way through the courts.