A Message to our Clients Regarding the Ongoing Yasmin/Yaz/Ocella Litigation Against Bayer Corporation

As the Yaz/Yasmin/Ocella mass tort litigation against Bayer progresses, we are providing our Clients and others whom follow this blog with an update on the current state of the litigation.

The litigation is nearing the first trials, and you may start to see increased attention paid by the media to this important case. The reason for this increase in interest stems from the current litigation schedules adopted by The U.S. District Court for Southern District of Illinois and The Courts of Common Pleas in both Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania and Bergen County, New Jersey.

As part of these schedules, the Courts will conduct trials of “Bellwether” cases. The Bellwether process allows the Parties and the Courts to address issues of law and fact that are common to all Plaintiffs, and are meant to offer guidance on the cases. It is important to note, however that the Bellwether trials and their decisions would never eliminate anyone’s right to individual trial - it is this distinction, among others, that makes Bellwether cases different than Class Action lawsuits.

The first bellwether trial is scheduled to take place beginning on January 12, 2012, before Judge Herndon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. This initial trial will address the claims of a Plaintiff who suffered a pulmonary embolism as a result of her Yaz/Yasmin use. The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania will commence its bellwether process with two pulmonary embolism trials scheduled to begin on January 23, 2012, and February 21, 2012, respectively.

Before the bellwether trials can begin in any jurisdiction however, the Courts must first decide whether the expert witness testimony proffered by the Parties will be admissible as evidence in court. In order to make this determination, the Courts must first assess the weight, sufficiency, and reliability of the scientific evidence presented by respective witnesses to ultimately decide whether the expert witness testimony will assist the jury in deciding a particular case. These hearings are commonly referred to as Daubert or Frye hearings, and are set to begin on December 5, 2011.

Following the conclusion of these initial trials, additional bellwether trials will commence on a rolling basis throughout 2012. Below is a rough schedule for each injury category which identifies the major deadlines in 2012:

Pulmonary Embolism Cases
December 5, 2011 – Daubert/Frye Hearings
January 12, 2012 – MDL Trial in St. Louis, IL
January 23, 2012 – Pennsylvania State Trial #1
February 21, 2012 – Pennsylvania State Trial #2

Gallbladder Cases
Week of March 19, 2012 – Daubert/Frye Hearings
April 2, 2012 – MDL Trial in St. Louis, IL
April 23, 2012 – Pennsylvania State Trial #1
May 21, 2012 – Pennsylvania State Trial #2
 
VTE (Venous Thromboembolism) Cases
Week of June 11th 2012 – Daubert Hearings
June 25, 2012 – MDL Trian in St. Louis, IL
July 23, 2012 – Pennsylvania State Trial #1
August 20th 2012 – Pennsylvania State Trial #2

What Does This Mean for ZKB Law Clients?

We will continue to update this blog every time we receive new or pertinent information regarding the Yaz cases. If we need additional information from you, or have specific information about your individual claim, we will contact you directly.

If you have moved or changed phone numbers, please email us at Anneke@ToledoLaw.com and provide us with any new contact information.

What Does This Mean for Women Who May Have a Claim, But Have Not Yet Retained an Attorney or Filed a Case?

While the litigation is currently progressing and trials are scheduled to begin, this does not mean that it is too late for you to initiate a claim if you suffered injury as a result of using Yaz or Yasmin. The Firm of Zoll, Kranz & Borgess is still accepting cases in an effort to assist all persons injured by these drugs. For a free consultation or for more information please call us toll-free at 888.841.9623 or via email at Anneke@ToledoLaw.com.

FDA acknowledges that birth control pills containing drospirenone may increase risk for blood clots | Yaz birth control injury

Blood clot

Nearly 800,000 U.S. women were recently studied by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine if taking drospirenone-containing birth control pills, like Yaz, increases a woman’s chance of developing a blood clot.

While the results are not yet final, the FDA did find the early data disturbing enough to release preliminary findings showing that women taking the new contraceptives stand a 1.5 to 2 times greater chance of experiencing the potentially fatal side effect than women using the older types of birth control pills.

Other, older types of birth control typically contain the active ingredient levonorgestrel instead of drospirenone.

The FDA-funded study analyzed women taking one of 11 different types of birth control pills, most of which are the same as or the generics of Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella. The FDA also released additional information for patients about the pills containing drospirenone, and advised women to be aware of blood clot symptoms, including persistent leg pain, severe chest pain, or sudden shortness of breath. It is suggested that women experiencing any of these symptoms call their healthcare professional immediately.

Bayer Corporation, the maker of Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, has been under scrutiny since the FDA publically warned the company about their marketing techniques that “minimize serious risks associated with the use of the drug [Yaz]” in an October 2008 letter.

The letter also reprimanded Bayer for their “misleading” commercials about the efficacy of Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, which leads views to believe that the birth control pills will alleviate symptoms like irritability, moodiness, feeling anxious, bloating, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, increased appetite, and acne, even though there are no clinical studies to prove this claim.

The FDA’s Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs and the FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee will be holding a joint meeting regarding the findings of this study on December 8, 2011.

Zoll, Kranz and Borgess will be providing complete coverage of the issues discussed in this meeting, which we will post on our blog. For answers to additional questions on what to do if you have experienced a blood clot while taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella, contact us toll-free at 888.841.9623 or via email at Anneke@ToledoLaw.com.

What is the link between Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella birth control and gallbladder disease? | Yaz injury lawsuit

Many women who have taken the birth control Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella have experienced gallbladder disease, or complications from the presence of gallstones in the gallbladder. The purpose of the gallbladder is to store bile until the body needs it to aid in the digestion of food in the small intestine.

If there is too much cholesterol present in the gallbladder, the cholesterol can harden into crystal-like stones, with sizes ranging from that of a grain of salt up to the size of a golf ball. Gall stones can also form from the excess cholesterol if the gall bladder does not empty itself frequently enough.

The chemicals in Yaz birth control have been shown to increase the levels of cholesterol, which may be why so many previously-healthy women have developed gall stones while on the drug.

Yaz birth control and its generics, Yasmin and Ocella, are also the only oral contraceptives on the market that contain the progestin, Drospirenone. Drospirenone has strong diuretic qualities, which rid the body of salt and water, but it can also cause dehydration. During dehydration, the bile in the gallbladder can become over-saturated, which in turn can cause the gallbladder to slow down and gall stones to form.

Gallbladder disease develops when the gall stones cause some sort of other problem in the body, with the most common problems being:

- Severe pain and swelling from a buildup of pressure that occurs when the gall stones obstruct the cystic duct and prevent the flow of bile

- The gall stones blocking the biliary duct, preventing bile from flowing to the intestine and causing bilirubin, the active ingredient in bile, to build up in the blood. This results in jaundice, when the skin and eyes become yellow from the bilirubin

When either of these conditions develops, doctors often opt to surgically remove the gallbladder, as some women taking Yaz have had to go through. Risks of the surgery include bleeding, infection, injury to the common bile duct or small intestine and pancreatitis.

If you have had your gallbladder removed while taking Yaz birth control, and would like more information, contact Zoll, Kranz and Borgess toll-free at 888.841.9623 or via email at Anneke@ToledoLaw.com.