Bayer is being sued again over the side effects linked to Yaz and Yasmin. This time, four women have filed lawsuits after they developed deep vein thrombosis from taking the controversial birth control pills. The lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Deep vein thrombosis is an injury that is caused when blood clots develop in the legs. It is a common side effect that has been linked to the use of the fourth-generation pills by numerous studies. Blood clots linked to Yaz use also cause pulmonary embolisms and strokes. Other side effects linked to Yaz use include gallbladder disease, heart attacks, kidney stones and irritable bowel syndrome. These side effects are the basis for the more than 14,000 lawsuits that have been filed against the makers of the pills.
Even while Bayer continues to claim that the pills are safe and effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies, the company has begun settling thousands of cases — so many cases, in fact, that it has already agreed to pay over a billion dollars, and that amount is expected to double before it is finished. These newest four lawsuits are accusing Bayer of failing to properly warn the public and healthcare professionals of the dangers linked to Yaz and Yasmin. They also claim that the company either knew or should have known how dangerous the pills were before putting them on the market. This is a similar claim filed by almost all Yaz plaintiffs in cases all over the country.
Even Canadian plaintiffs are filing countless lawsuits against Bayer. Most recently, a CBC News report stated that recently-uncovered documents are linking the deaths of 23 women to Yaz use. Bayer can only pretend the pills are safe for so long before these injuries and lawsuits are finally given notice and the pills are pulled from the shelves permanently.