Lawsuits Pile Up Over Popular Birth Control Pill
From the Chicago Tribune
Peotone's Maggie Yunker had been taking birth control pills for a year when her doctor suggested switching to a brand that also could clear up acne and ease some aggravating symptoms related to her period.
Yunker was sold. But a year later, the 20-year-old suffered a life-altering stroke after multiple blood clots formed, broke free and lodged in her brain.
Though all oral contraceptives slightly increase the chance of developing blood clots in the legs and lungs, Yunker was taking Yaz, part of a newer generation of pills that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says may pose a greater risk than similar types of birth control.
The increase in risk is still small, and birth control pills are generally considered so safe and effective that some doctors' groups advocate selling them over the counter.
But Yaz and other pills containing the hormone drospirenone have drawn a flood of litigation over reports of deaths, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, gallbladder disease, elevated potassium levels and other problems. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, the leading manufacturer of the drugs, as of July had settled the claims of 6,760 U.S. plaintiffs for a total of $1.4 billion, including $237,000 to Yunker.
The company, which expects additional lawsuits like Yunker's, has admitted no fault.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Peotone's Maggie Yunker had been taking birth control pills for a year when her doctor suggested switching to a brand that also could clear up acne and ease some aggravating symptoms related to her period.
Yunker was sold. But a year later, the 20-year-old suffered a life-altering stroke after multiple blood clots formed, broke free and lodged in her brain.
Though all oral contraceptives slightly increase the chance of developing blood clots in the legs and lungs, Yunker was taking Yaz, part of a newer generation of pills that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says may pose a greater risk than similar types of birth control.
The increase in risk is still small, and birth control pills are generally considered so safe and effective that some doctors' groups advocate selling them over the counter.
But Yaz and other pills containing the hormone drospirenone have drawn a flood of litigation over reports of deaths, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, gallbladder disease, elevated potassium levels and other problems. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, the leading manufacturer of the drugs, as of July had settled the claims of 6,760 U.S. plaintiffs for a total of $1.4 billion, including $237,000 to Yunker.
The company, which expects additional lawsuits like Yunker's, has admitted no fault.
Read more in our daily News Update...