According to Bayer, the pharmaceutical giant has paid out more than $1.6 billion in settlements over Yasmin and Yaz blood clot embolism injuries. The German drug manufacturer is exposed to thousands of product liability drug claims that allege that women suffered severe blood clots due to dangerous side effects of the birth control pills. Bayer has been settling these injury cases over the past 2 years.
Bayer 3rd Quarter Report
According to the third quarter financial report, Bayer state that it has reached agreements to settle approximately 7,660 venous clot injuries claims including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Bayer has agreed to settle about 8,800 gallbladder injuries claims.
Bayer Still Exposed to 5,000 Lawsuits
Bayer is still exposed to 5,000 Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Gianvi remaining lawsuits, the majority of them filed in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois. Bayer has said that it is continuing settlements of venous clot injuries cases including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, after a review of medical records and documented proof of use of Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Gianvi.
Plaintiffs Claim Failure to Warn
The lawsuits claim that Bayer failed to warn women of the side effects of Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella and Gianvi. Ocella and Gianvi are generic versions of the best selling oral contraceptive pills.
It is well documented that all birth control pills have an increased risk of blood clots, but medical studies had showed that Yaz and Yasmin increased the risks of side ffects when compared to older contraceptives on the market.
Yaz Federal MDL in Illinois
The Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits has been consolidated as part of an MDL in the Southern District of Illinois. Yaz and Yasmin litigation has the dubious honor of being the largest consolidated litigation in the United States in 2012, when the total number of active cases was greater than the asbestos litigation.