According to the Yaz Resource Center, a patient advocacy group, sufferers of Yaz and Yasmin side effects may be more likely to receive settlements from the makers of the pills, Bayer, since the company has decided to put aside more money to settle the lawsuits filed against them.
While Bayer is putting aside more money to settle Yaz claims, the company has made it clear that victims have to qualify for the settlement money before their cases will be settled. To qualify for the settlement, Yaz victims must have suffered from a blood clot, stroke, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. The company made no mention of the other side effects linked to Yaz in this settlement requirement. Some of the other side effects include heart attack, gallbladder disease, kidney stones and irritable bowel syndrome. Those seeking a settlement are urged to contact the Yaz Resource Center or their lawyers.
This move to settle likely comes from various studies that highlight Yaz’s link to blood clots, including information that was published on October 25th in the British Medical Journal. That study specifically linked Yaz to dangerous and life-threatening to blood clots and spurred an FDA report called “Combined Hormonal Contraceptives and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Endpoints.” That report again found that Yaz increased a patient’s chances of suffering from blood clots by an astounding 74 percent. On May 31 of this year, the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices’ QuarterWatch published a Yaz study that stated that Yaz and Yasmin were only second in rank of all drugs on the market in 2011 as far as the complications the drug cause.
Back in April, it was reported that Bayer had already started settling Yaz lawsuits to the tune of $110 million, which amounts to $220 million per plaintiff. Bayer confirmed that report in its own announcement. Now it is being reported by Bloomberg that Bayer has agreed to settle almost 1,900 Yaz lawsuits for just a little more than $400 million. Bayer again confirmed this in their stockholder report. What this means is that Bayer has doubled its money put aside to settle potential lawsuits in the amount of $610 million. While this money only covers lawsuits related to blood clots, it is only a matter of time before gallbladder disease and other Yaz side effects make it into the settlement agreements.
