NuvaRing Attorneys Report That Patients May Be Injured
NuvaRing Lawsuit: Surge in Litigations Alleging NuvaRing Blood Clot Side Effects
Rachel Lietzke Payne, now a 25-year-old Orlando resident, selected NuvaRing contraceptive device in 2008. She chose the once-a-month vaginal ring for birth control because it was convenient and easy to use compared to daily pills. In October 2010, she fell down while walking out of a restaurant and vomited chunks of blood. She was diagnosed with fatal blood clots in her lungs and remained hospitalized for 10 days treated with anticoagulants. Doctors found that her use of NuvaRing birth control had led to blood clots in her.
Rachel is one among over 1,100 women who have filed NuvaRing lawsuits against Merck in a Missouri federal court seeking product liability. The plaintiffs claim that manufacturer Merck did not disclose blood clotting risks posed by the hormonal contraceptive that led to their fatal conditions and hospitalization. NuvaRing side effects have been linked to blood clots in users that result in deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart stroke, and other injuries.
NuvaRing Blood Clot Side Effects
Merck began marketing NuvaRing in the United States in October 2001 following the FDA approval. The flexible plastic vaginal ring contains synthetic progestin etonogestrel and synthetic estrogen ethinylestradiol that are released daily to prevent ovulation. NuvaRing also makes changes in the cervical mucus that thwart sperms from penetrating. Each contraceptive ring lasts for three weeks with a one-week gap.
However, etonogestrel and ethinylestradiol in NuvaRing increase the risk of blood clot and venous thrombosis by 6.5 times. Etonogestrel, a third-generation progestin, contains desogestrel, a key element in causing blood clots. The hormones can prove fatal for those who smoke too often, or those who have undergone surgery recently, or those suffering from cardiovascular problems, or those with a family history of blood clotting.
An FDA-sponsored study published in 2011 warned that the third-generation progestin in NuvaRing hormonal contraceptive increases the risk of blood clots by 56 percent. Based on the medical data of 80,000 women who used levonorgestrel and progestin-based birth control options from 2001 to 2007, the study found the NuvaRing-type contraceptives pose a higher risk of blood clotting than the earlier ones. It warned of the risk of pulmonary embolism, stroke, and deep vein thrombosis in NuvaRing users following higher estrogen exposure.
The New England Journal of Medicine published a Danish research report in June 2012 that highlighted a high risk of venous thrombosis following blood clots in women using NuvaRing vaginal ring contraceptive. It also claimed that NuvaRing users face up to three times higher threat of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.
The most reported health problems caused by NuvaRing blood clotting side effects include,
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Myocardial infraction
- Coronary artery blockage
- Heart stroke because of blood supply blockage
- Chest pain and palpitations
- Hypertension
NuvaRing Lawsuits
About 1,100 NuvaRing lawsuits are centralized at an Eastern Missouri district court. Among state courts, about 200 litigations are pending trial in New Jersey. Bayer previously paid $216,000 as average compensation to plaintiffs who made similar complaints over its Yaz and Yasmin birth control drugs with third-generation progestin. The plaintiffs of NuvaRing lawsuits have alleged that the hormones in the vaginal contraceptive ring as well as its design are responsible for causing fatal blood clots. Direct delivery of third-generation progestin to blood results in “spikes” of hormones that put users at the greater risk of blood clotting.
According to a Nuvaring lawsuit filed by a South Carolina woman, the vaginal ring contraceptive caused her to be hospitalized for six days following the discovery of deep vein thrombosis in her leg. Another plaintiff from Texas met with similar fate within a month of using Nuvaring for birth control.
Side Effects
Some women who have had NuvaRing implanted experienced serious and even debilitating or life-threatening side-effects. Serious side effects that have been linked to NuvaRing include:
- Blood clots
- Cerebral thrombosis
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- Heart attack or myocardial infarction (MI)
- Pulmonary embolism
- Retinal thrombosis
- Stroke or cerebral hemorrhage
- Thrombophlebitis and venous thrombosis with or without embolism
- Toxic shock syndrome (TSS)
If you experienced adverse NuvaRing side effects or have a loved one who suffered injury following the implantation of NuvaRing, you may have a potential NuvaRing lawsuit.
More Information
Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001, NuvaRing is a non-biodegradable, latex-free, flexible vaginal ring containing a combination of the hormones estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and progestin (etonogestrel). Etonogestrel is the active metabolite of desogestrel, a synthetic form of the naturally occurring female sex hormone progesterone. The NuvaRing contraceptive ring is designed to prevent pregnancy by releasing a steady dose of the hormone combination into the bloodstream through the vaginal walls over the course of 21 days. The hormones prevent ovulation, change the cervical mucus to prevent sperm penetration, and thin the lining of the uterus to, theoretically, prevent sperm implantation.
In October 2003, The New England Journal of Medicine addressed research suggesting that, when taken orally, desogestrel can significantly increase the risk of blood clots. If left untreated, such blood clots can develop into more serious conditions that may include stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, or deep vein thrombosis. These findings, as well as those from other studies, were based upon analysis of the effect of oral contraceptives containing desogestrel.
A Swiss report was released in June 2010 which claimed there were approximately 40 deaths reported in the FDA database of adverse events associated with Nuvaring. The current label and package insert for NuvaRing refers only to studies conducted on women using combination oral contraceptives and suggests that adverse reactions associated with the use of combination hormonal oral contraceptives are likely to apply to combination vaginal contraceptives like NuvaRing. The label, however, states that there is no available epidemiologic data to determine whether the safety and efficacy of vaginal administration of combination hormonal contraceptives differs from oral administration. To date, there is no comprehensive study of NuvaRing and the long-term health effects of its vaginally delivered combination.
Our team of attorneys are now investigating claims and prepared to file NuvaRing lawsuits involving the vaginal ring contraceptive medication NuvaRing®. NuvaRing is manufactured by New Jersey-based Organon USA, Inc., a company that Schering-Plough Corporation acquired in 2007, and has been linked to serious events such as blood clots, pulmonary embolism, stroke and heart attack.Call us today at 1-800-632-1404 for a FREE CONSULTATION.
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