No End in Sight for Mirena Legal Actions

Throughout the United States, lawsuits keep piling up against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals over its Mirena intrauterine contraceptive device.

In November 2012, plaintiffs filed lawsuits that claimed that the device is defective. They also alleged that Bayer downplayed Mirena’s risks and overstated its effectiveness, according to the Law360 Web site (subscription required). Prior to November, there were at least 16 lawsuits pending in a New Jersey superior court, also alleging similar product defects and personal injuries.

An intrauterine device (IUD), Mirena is a T-shaped plastic frame housing a reservoir filled with the contraceptive medicine levonorgestrel. Bayer offered Mirena as a simple “hassle-free” method of birth control that was effective for five years after its insertion. After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Mirena in 2000, more than 2 million U.S. women have had it implanted.

However, as these November suits indicate, Mirena is prone to perforate the uterus or migrate through women’s bodies. Plaintiff Stephanie Denise Barnett’s suit alleges she had the device inserted in 2008. After she began bleeding in September 2012, she sought medical treatment. While in the hospital, doctors learned the device had migrated from her uterus to her abdomen. This will require laparoscopic surgery, the complaint said. Barnett alleges Mirena didn’t work as promised, and that Bayer offered inadequate warnings of its risks.

Another plaintiff claimed that a Mirena device perforated her uterus, says the Law360 article. A third plaintiff said the device migrated through her right fallopian tube. These two plaintiffs underwent surgery to remove the device.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a Mirena or another medical device, contact Sokolove Law today for a free legal consultation. You can find out if a medical device lawyer may be able to help you.

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