The Mirena lawsuit filed by a Maryland woman in US District Court in New Jersey, alleges the birth control device caused her to develop idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This condition causes a dangerous buildup of fluid around the brain, which creates an abnormally high pressure inside the skull. Symptoms are vision problems, intolerance to light and severe headaches. Daphne Houck claims she experienced these symptoms shortly after the Mirena was implanted. She followed up with an MRI and CT scan that diagnosed pseudotumor cerebri and underwent a lumber puncture to remove excess cerebrospinal fluid from the skull.Intracranial hypertension is an uncommon condition that can be caused by a severe head injury, stroke or brain abscess, and blood vessel abnormalities. In Houck’s case, Mirena allegedly caused idiopathic intracranial hypertension, or IIH, because idiopathic means the cause is unknown. IIH can also be caused by hormone problems.
Most Mirena lawsuits claim the device migrated after it was implanted and caused a host of complications, including ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. And this month, a wrongful death lawsuit.
A Houston woman claims her son was stillborn in 2013 due to the Mirena. Abigail Lane claims that she was never told of complications when the IUD was implanted in 2009. There were no risks included in the Mirena label, which she was given by her doctor. Her lawsuit, like thousands of other Mirena lawsuits, claims that she would never have consented to having the IUD implanted if she was informed of the possible complications.
Lane’s lawsuit argues that the device is defective: Mirena’s “T”-shaped arms embedded in the uterine wall, causing “unreasonable dangerous risk to the fetus when Mirena fails to prevent pregnancy.” In Lane’s case, she suffered a uterine infection that led to her son’s death.
Here is Bayer’s response to the wrongful death case:
“We greatly sympathize with any woman who experiences injury or loss regardless of the cause. Pregnancy loss, unfortunately, occurs in 15-20 percent of pregnancies overall, according to national statistics. Bayer believes that it has strong defenses to this case and is confident that the FDA-approved information and warnings in the Mirena label are accurate and science based.”
Plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that Bayer has failed to include warnings deliberately - so the drug giant can sell more Mirena IUDs. Bayer has already sold 15 million of the devices worldwide. One attorney representing Lane is also a gynecologist-obstetrician. Francois M. Blaudeau said the Mirena IUD is the only form of birth control that can “kill or injure a baby.”
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