Swiss CSS Backing Yaz Claim
One woman’s Yaz lawsuit against Bayer has the support of her insurance company. It turns out that Switzerland’s CSS, the country’s largest health insurance company, is backing up one woman’s case after she sued Bayer over Yaz side effects.
The Swiss media are reporting that the plaintiff developed a pulmonary embolism after taking Yasmin, which is Yaz’s sister pill. CSS announced its support of the woman on January 9, 2013, and the insurer is also named as a joint plaintiff in the lawsuit. And Switzerland is not the only European country that is looking into the dangers of Yaz and Yasmin. In fact, many European countries have been critical of the controversial birth control pills. France, for example, has stopped reimbursing the prescription costs of Yaz and Yasmin after the pills were found to be extremely dangerous.
Blood clots have caused the largest concern among Yaz users since they can be life-threatening. Blood clots can lead to strokes, pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis. Yaz can also cause gallbladder disease, kidney stones and heart attacks. The cause of all of these side effects has been linked to drospirenone, which is a fourth-generation synthetic progestin that is the main active ingredient in the pills.
For years, Bayer denied the pills’ dangers, but the company has begun to concede after agreeing to reach settlements in as many 3,400 lawsuits. So far, the company has paid out $750 million in those settlements and currently is negotiating other settlements. Since the pills hit the market, Bayer has been sued by more than 14,000 former users — and the list continues to grow. Bayer has been accused of knowingly hiding Yaz dangers from the public for years. In fact, in its earlier ad campaigns, the drug was promoted as a cure for acne and PMS. Those same ads downplayed the side effects and forced the FDA to make Bayer change the ads to include the blood clot risks in 2011 after a panel advisory committee voted on whether to recall the pills. The company has also been accused of failing to properly warn the public and healthcare professionals of Yaz dangers.
