According to plaintiffs in the case against Bayer, the makers of the drospierenone-containing Yaz and Yasmin, and Barr Laboratories makers of the generic form, Ocella, the drugs have caused arterial clots that resulted in life-threatening complications, including stroke and heart attack.
Recently, Bayer agreed to pay $56.9 million to establish a settlement program for those claims, but if fewer than 97.5 percent of the eligible plaintiffs fail to participate, they will be able to withdraw. It is not clear at this time if the manufacturers of Ocella will contribute to the settlement, or, if so, how much.
Court documents originally contained 12,000 files, all with multiple plaintiffs, making it the largest multidistrict litigation in the nation at its height. But the defendants reportedly argued that some of the plaintiffs had duplicate claims, and that others had never taken drospierenone-containing birth control. By February, they had boiled it down to just 3,400 claims. Some of the cases dismissed were remanded to their home district to be dismissed, settled, or tried. The first is set to begin trial in late July.
Not the First Set of Claims Against Manufacturers
Bayer spokesman, Steven Immergrut, told The Legal Intelligencer that the company does not believe the drugs carry an increased risk for arterial blood clots, and that the risks are adequately disclosed on the drug’s labeling. He also stated that they have agreed to the settlement “without any admission of wrongdoing or liability.”
Yet, according to a statement from the attorneys representing some of the plaintiffs, Bayer previously agreed to pay $2 million to resolve claims over deep vein thrombosis and gallbladder problems. Those claims were consolidated into an MDL with the arterial clots in 2009, however, and thousands of those cases were dismissed by the defendants.
U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon of the Southern District of Illinois, the MDL judge in the case, criticized the litigation tactics being used by Bayer—for both the dismissal of cases, and for the long-standing litigations, which could have far-reaching implications for victims of this allegedly mislabeled drug.
Get Qualified Help for Your Claim
It is no surprise that Bayer would attempt to use unfair litigation tactics to reduce the amount of damages they pay out to victims, or that they would deny any responsibility for an error on their part. If, however, they are responsible, then it is only fair that they provide reasonable compensation to the victims affected by their defective drugs. But, because navigating a litigation process such as the one against Bayer can be complicated, anyone with a claim against them should seek out qualified, professional help.
We fight for the rights of our clients, and our community. If you or someone you love has taken Yaz, Yasmin, or Ocella and suffered from an unlisted complication, we can help.
