Mirena IUD Lawsuit
Mirena is a type of intrauterine device (IUD), produced and manufactured by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and marketed for it’s long acting effects and effectiveness, lighter periods, and the fact that it’s reversible, and used by thousands of women worldwide. An IUD is a popular form of birth control that allegedly, once implanted, lasts up to 5 years. The Mirena device is a small, T-shaped flexible container constructed of plastic that when inserted into the uterus, releases small amounts of the hormone, levonorgesterel, commonly found in oral contraceptives into the uterus.
Complications Involving Use of Mirena Device
Mirena has caused several complications, some of which have been severe.
Serious complications include, but are not limited to the following:
- Abdominal pain
- Ovarian cysts
- Irregular bleeding
- Abscesses
- Embedment in the uterus
- Infertility
- Intrauterine Pregnancy
- Pelvic Inflammatory disease
Legal Action Involving the Mirena Device
Many lawsuits claiming the device is defective and unreasonably dangerous have been filed against the manufacturer Bayer Pharmaceuticals. The lawsuits are alleging that Bayer intentionally sold and marketed a dangerous product, even after the FDA sent them a warning letter in December of 2009 stating the risks were not properly highlighted to users.
In 2013, a federal panel of judges created a multi-district litigation (MDL) which centralized all the suits being filed in one location, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Multi-District Litigation has many advantages over a class-action lawsuit because it allows a large number of individuals to pursue a claim against a common defendant through a process that increases efficiency and lowers the costs of litigation. Each individual claim is evaluated on the specific injuries of their case, not through one class representative.
In February 2016, over 1,250 cases were pending in the U.S. District Court before Judge Cathy Seibel and another 2,000 cases were pending in the New Jersey State Court, bringing the total number of pending cases to over 3,000.
Judge Seibel selected a handful of cases for trial in early April 2016; however, prior to the trials beginning, she blocked the testimony of the plaintiff’s experts. Therefore, the trials were delayed once again while the plaintiff’s attorneys seek to replace the plaintiff’s experts.
Even though many cases are currently pending for trial, it’s not too late to become part of the MDL. If you or someone you know has suffered an injury from a medical device such as use of the Mirena device, please call our team at Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. for a free consultation.
