Yaz Lawsuits Reach 6,000 and Counting
Many Yaz lawsuits have been filed by women who have experienced some of the pill's adverse side effects amid claims that Bayer, the makers of Yaz and its sister drug, Yasmin, misled the public in its advertisements. The total number of lawsuits filed against the company has now exceeded 6,000, with no clear end in sight.
Yaz side effects have also gone under fire. The drug is made with drosperinone, a type of progestin; research has shown that the drosperinone increases the risks of patients suffering from potentially life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis and blood clots.
On February 14, 2011, at the Status Conference that was convened by Judge David R. Herndon, a lot of the attention was focused on the bellwether cases that are supposed to reach trial in September. The bellwether trial are meant to be used as test cases so that a precedent may be set in settling the other Yaz lawsuits. The main aspect of the bellwether trial that was discussed during the Status Conference was the issue of discovery involving the production of documents and depositions.
So far, it is said that one bellwether case is going to be dismissed without prejudice, meaning that defendants will then be allowed to go with a different one instead and that the defendants are working with the plaintiffs to that effect, should the need arise.
While not a lot is happening in the courtroom yet, the 6,000-plus cases being filed are sure to increase to the point where Bayer may finally have to admit that Yaz is in fact more dangerous than other birth control pills that don’t contain the combination of dropserinone and ethinyl. There is no real way to know how the bellwether cases will end, but it is fair to say that at least some of the lawsuits against Bayer will be won. It’s just a matter of getting the first cases tried.
