Yasmin Complaints Still Coming In

Bend, ORIt’s surprising that not everyone has heard about Yasmin and Yaz side effects, and even more surprising that even with 100 deaths linked to the birth control pill, it is still on the market. Darla found out that Yasmin is dangerous just last month - when she suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Fortunately, she found out by hospital doctors.

“I had been taking Yasmin since 2007 and only stopped last month when the doctors explained to me about drospirenone being the cause of these health problems,” says Darla, who recently moved to the US from Brazil, where you don’t even need a prescription for Yasmin or Yaz. “I brought some extra boxes of Yaz with me as I didn’t know how long it would take to see a doctor,” adds Darla. “I just got married and my plan was to register with an MBA program in Europe, but I have to put that on hold. The hospital doctors told me it is too dangerous to fly for some time and I have to take anticoagulants for at least three months. After three months I will have to get some more tests to make sure the clots have gone. And I can’t take any hormone medication again, ever.”

Since Darla returned home from the hospital she has spent most of the time in bed with her leg raised - the leg where she had the DVT. The pulmonary embolism (PE) had traveled to her lung after the blood clot in her leg broke loose. “I try to walk a little bit more each day but my leg is still very swollen and I’m still in a lot of pain,” says Darla.



Bayer has spent more than $1.8 billion (Yes, billion) on Yasmin and Yaz lawsuit settlements. And that doesn’t include gallbladder settlements, which are supposedly going to settle soon. But before that, Yaz and Yasmin cases are still moving forward. An Illinois federal judge overseeing the Yaz multidistrict litigation (MDL) has slated a trial date for June 2015. The MDL is In re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, case number 3:09-md-02100, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois; the case is Schuchert v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al., case number 3:10-cv-11979.

This particular MDL is considered the largest MDL nationwide, involving about 12,000 at its peak, according to court documents. About 2,000 cases involving Yasmin or Yaz DVT and PE have not yet settled for one reason or another, but Bayer, in its 2014 annual report, anticipates additional lawsuits. As of January 31, 2015, the number of claimants in the pending Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits and claims in the US totaled about 5,000. Darla and her attorney anticipate a settlement with Bayer this year.