San Diego, CA (PRWEB) November 21, 2012

http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/yasmin.html

Consumer News Weekly reports that there is encouraging legal news for women who have suffered blood-clotting, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms because of their use of the popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin.

Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the giant German company that has sold billions of the oral contraceptives recently reported that it has paid out about $ 750 million to settle nearly 3,500 of the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits that are part of a massive multi-district litigation in federal court.

The figures are contained in the companys third-quarter financial report to stockholders which recently was made public, detailing the substantial progress that has been made in settling these cases and the enormous amount of money being paid out to victims of Yaz and Yasmin side effects.

Consumer News Weekly notes that even while Bayer reported a surge in earnings during the quarter, the company is reporting that the amount of legal costs related to Yaz and Yasmin legal expenses is climbing significantly.

Many of these Yaz and Yasmin cases are being coordinated before a federal judge who is coordinating pre-trial evidence-gathering and legal filings (Southern District of Illinois.(MDL No. 2100, Southern District Illinois).

A review of the court docket in this multi-district litigation shows that the judge has not issued any order barring additional Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits being filed because the legal time limits have not expired for many women who may have suffered blood clots, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms.

Consumer News Weekly provides links to Yaz and Yasmin lawyers who are offering free consultations for women who have suffered these side effects and are seeking experienced, aggressive Yaz and Yasmin attorneys. As with most legal cases, there may be legal deadlines for filing such a lawsuit so it is recommended that you contact us as soon as possible to preserve all of your legal options.

In a July 31, 2012 report, Bloomberg News reported that Bayer is preparing itself for massive payouts in legal costs associated with Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits:

Bayer also more than doubled its reserve for Yaz cases, setting aside 496 million euros ($ 610.5 million), the company said. The drugmaker set aside a total of about 200 million euros in 2010 and 2011, according to securities filings. We believe we have made appropriate provisions for most of the cases we consider to be worthy of settlement with these accounting measures, Bayer officials said in an e-mailed statement.

Bloomberg quoted drug-industry analysts, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co.s Richard Vosser, as saying that they estimate that Bayer may have to pay more than 2 billion euros to resolve all the cases over the pills.

Yaz and Yasmin have long been among the best-selling oral contraceptives in the marketplace since they were first approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Yaz, in 2001 and Yasmin in 2006.

The pills both contain drospirenone, a synthetic form of progestin, which, according to claims common to the allegations contained in the Illinois federal litigation, increases the level of potassium in the blood and can cause heart rhythm problems leading to creation of blood clots.

According to an FDA health advisory issued April, 10, 2012, Bayer was directed to place new labeling on Yaz and Yasmin reporting that some epidemiologic studies reported as high as a three-fold increase in the risk of blood clots for drospirenone-containing products when compared to products containing levonorgestrel or some other progestins.

The FDA also issued, in bold face type the following recommendations in regards to Yaz, Yasmin and other drospirenone-containing contraceptives:

Women should talk to their healthcare professional about their risk for blood clots before deciding which birth control method to use.

Healthcare professionals should consider the risks and benefits of drospirenone-containing birth control pills and a womans risk for developing a blood clot before prescribing these drugs.

In addition to the FDA concerns about the safety of Yaz and Yasmin, the national, non-profit consumer organization Public Citizens medical research staff cited the same blood-clotting risks and warned consumers not to use the contraceptives:

We reviewed YASMIN in the April 2002 Worst Pills, Best Pills News and listed it as a Do Not Use drug for two reasons:

1) Drospirenone causes elevated blood levels of potassium that may cause serious heart and other health problems such as a change in blood acid balance and muscle weakness; and:

2) There is no evidence that YASMIN is superior in any way to older contraceptive products. For the same reasons, we subsequently listed YAZ as a Do Not Use drug.

Drospirenone is a close chemical cousin of spironolactone (ALDACTONE), a diuretic or water pill that causes the body to retain potassium. A 3-milligram dose of drospirenone, the amount in a daily contraceptive pill, is equivalent to 25 milligrams of spironolactone.

The problems that these risks can cause were outlined in some of the most recent Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits that have been filed by women who have suffered these dangerous side effects.

For instance, two months ago, five women filed Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits (3:2012cv11374) in Illinois Southern District Court in which they claimed to have suffered devastating health problems, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms because they used the birth control pills.

In this case, Jennifer Benefield, Melissa Wray, Cheryl Campos, Cheryl Hill and Rosemary Hampton filed allegations mirroring the risks cited by the FDA because, they said, they took the pills but were unaware of the dangerous side effects.

One of the victims, Wray, was forced to have her gall bladder removed in 2009, according to the allegations.

Consumer News Weekly urges any woman who has taken Yaz or Yasmin and suffered health complications to immediately seek advice from qualified health care professionals.

If these complications were caused by the use of the pills, Consumer News Weekly also recommends that Yaz or Yasmin victims contact our team of attorneys for a free consultation about the legal options that may be available to them.

As has been noted above, Bayer is in the process of settling many of these Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits and has set aside substantial amounts of funds for the legal costs the company will have to pay as a result of these blood-clotting side effects.

The legal process includes out-of-court settlements in which defendants such as Bayer may choose to settle cases and compensate victims rather than go to trial and risk jury awards that may be higher.

http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/yasmin.html


Sources:

http://www.stockholders-newsletter-q3-2012.bayer.com/en/bayer-stockholders-newsletter-3q-2012.pdfx

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-31/bayer-s-yasmin-lawsuit-settlements-rise-to-402-6-million.html

In re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, 09-md-02100, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis)

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm299305.htm

http://www.worstpills.org/member/newsletter.cfm?n_id=743

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois 3:2012cv11374