U.S. District Court Judge David Herndon has ordered that a previously-dismissed Yasmin lawsuit be reinstated. The case revolves around a mother that sued Bayer, the makers of Yasmin, amid claims that her daughter died after taking the controversial birth control pill.
Paulette Morgan’s daughter Alice died of a blood clot after taking Yasmin. In July of this year, her lawsuit was dismissed when she didn’t finish a questionnaire called a Plaintiff Fact Sheet. Paulette has since completed the fact sheet and filed a motion to have her lawsuit restored. Fortunately Herndon was around, because he ordered her lawsuit to be reinstated on Aug. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Paulette is just one of thousands of lawsuits that have been filed against Bayer over Yaz and Yasmin, which research has linked to various harmful side effects including blood clots in the veins and lungs. Right now, Herndon currently presides over Yaz multi-district litigation.
Bayer has been defending itself against many claims since Yaz and Yasmin hit the market. The drugs’ ads had even been touting the pills as a practical cure-all for everything from acne to PMS before the real risks became public. Even though evidence came up that showed how dangerous the pills were, Bayer stood by the drugs. The FDA finally intervened, issuing a black box warning against the pills and forcing Bayer to advertise the drugs to that effect.
Paulette is convinced that if Alice had known how dangerous Yasmin was, she wouldn’t have taken the pills at all. Now Paulette is hoping that Bayer will be held liable for her daughter’s death, and thanks to Herndon, Paulette will get to have her day in court.