Oh Yaz, There May be a Problem

Carlsbad, CALarge storm clouds are gathering over Bayer HealthCare as more and more women are reporting serious physical and emotional problems connected to the Yasmin birth control pill . "I have a 30-year-old client who had a severe stroke after three weeks of taking Yaz," says attorney Ron Laba. "She is partially paralyzed and debilitated to the point where she cannot work, cannot drive a car and cannot do most activities of daily living without assistance."

Laba is just one of the attorneys preparing to file product liability (failure to warn) cases against Bayer on behalf of clients who have come forward with serious injuries they believe are related to the use of the Yasmin and Yaz birth control pills. "We are now trying to determine how many cases there are out there now," says Laba. "These are women who have either suffered a heart attack or deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism or sometimes kidney or renal problems. They are typically young women between the ages of 17 and 35 or 40."

Yasmin is the now top selling birth control pill in the US with an estimated 20 percent share of the market. Laba believes that there is significant amount of information available to show that Bayer did not provide sufficient warnings to consumers about possible complications. "We believe that the warnings are not sufficient," he says. "This product has been marketed as safer and more effective than traditional second or third generation birth control pills, but we believe that from information we have, that is not the case."

"There are two separate ingredients the estrogen component and the progesterone component in birth control pills," explains Laba. "Yasmin and Yaz are made with a synthetic progesterone called drospirone/ethinyl estradiol. That component is unique and never before used in other birth control pills.

"It causes increased levels of potassium in the blood and that's a fact that Bayer admits to. This leads to condition known as hyperkalemia that causes heart rhythm disturbances, which in turn slows the blood flow and can lead to stroke, heart attack and clots in the lungs."

Ron Laba is a personal injury attorney with more 20 years experience. His practice focuses on helping injured people deal with insurance companies and is currently taken on clients with problems related to the Yasmin and Yaz birth control pill.