Yet Another Yaz Lawsuit Added to Mass Tort
With the Bellwether trial start date just months away, more and more Yaz lawsuits are popping up all over the country. Plaintiff Jennifer Rich’s Yaz lawsuit is the most recent complaint to be added to the mass tort that is to be heard in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The complaint was filed on September 20 amid claims that taking the controversial birth control pill caused Rich to suffer from deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Rich’s official complaint states that she developed DVT and other injuries in 2009. Her lawyers are claiming that Bayer (the makers of Yaz and its sister pill, Yasmin) “defectively manufactured the oral contraceptive, and sold it under the fraudulent pretense that it was safe.” Rich’s case also alleges that the birth control pills didn’t just cause her injuries, but also that “Bayer neglected to warn Rich and her doctor about the risks associated with the drug, including blood clots, DVT and heart attack.”
Rich is seeking to recover damages which cover a wide range of things including punitive or exemplary damages, medical expenses, lost wages and attorney fees. As well as the mass tort in Los Angeles, Rich’s case will join the thousands of other trials set to begin in New Jersey, including the Bellwether trials that are said to be underway as early as January 2012. Plaintiffs all over the country have been filing lawsuits against Bayer over its fraudulent marketing tactics which downplayed Yaz risks. In addition, the mass tort claims that the drug makers knowingly hid the negative side effects linked with the pills from the public and healthcare practitioners.
Many different studies link Yaz and its key ingredient, drosperinone, to adverse side effects which include blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, gallbladder disease and death. For its part, Bayer stubbornly stands by Yaz and Yasmin, claiming that the company's own study revealed that Yaz and Yasmin are no more dangerous than any other form of birth control pill.
