The first bellwether trial in the nationwide litigation over the copper IUD Paragard is scheduled to go to trial in Georgia in October 2024. More than 2,200 lawsuits have been filed against Teva Pharmaceutical and CooperSurgical by women whose Paragard IUDs broke during removal or implantation, or who experienced other complications from the birth control device.
These lawsuits filed against the manufacturers of Paragard have alleged that the T-shaped arms of the copper IUD have a tendency to break when the device is being removed. When Paragard IUDs break during removal or while being implanted, the broken pieces of the device may cause serious and potentially life-threatening injuries to women.
Complications Linked to Paragard IUDs
During the last 10 years, the Food and Drug Administration has received more than 38,000 reports of women who experienced complications involving Paragard IUDs. According to the the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), at least 9,000 of these reports involved women who were injured when their Paragard IUD was implated or removed, nearly twice as many reports as the agency received involving hormonal IUDs.
When Paragard breaks during removal or implantation, the broken pieces of the T-shaped IUD may cause women to experience other serious health conditions:
- Doctors may be forced to perform invasive surgeries such as a hysteroscopy in order to remove the broken pieces of the IUD from the body.
- Broken pieces of the copper IUD can migrate to other areas of the body, or become lodged in the walls of the uterus.
- Damage from broken Paragard IUDs may be so severe that doctors may be forced to perform a hysterectomy in order to completely remove the uterus.
Paragard Lawsuits Consolidated in Nationwide Federal MDL
In December 2020, hundreds of Paragard lawsuits that were filed by women who were injured by broken copper IUDs were consolidated in a federal multidistrict litigation, or MDL, by the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The federal panel assigned these cases to be heard in the Northern District of Georgia under Judge Leigh Martin May.
As of October 2023, there are at least 2,246 Paragard lawsuits that have been joined to the federal MDL in Georgia. This represents an increase of nearly 700 additional cases that are part of the MDL than there were at the beginning of the year.
Consolidating large, complex cases such as the Paragard litigation in a federal MDL helps to expedite the discovery and trial process for these cases, making it easier for plaintiffs who were injured to receive a settlement. However, unlike a class action lawsuit, in an MDL, each individual lawsuit remains its own separate case.
Earlier this year, the first bellwether lawsuit for the Paragard litigation was scheduled for trial by Judge May for October 2024. Bellwether trials are test cases that are chosen from the pool of all lawsuits involved in an MDL, which are tried before a jury in order to provide a basis for settlement negotiations between the attorneys on both sides of the litigation.
Women Injured by Broken Paragard IUDs May Qualify to File a Lawsuit
Although the Paragard MDL in Georgia is already underway, there is still time for women who used Paragard and were injured by a broken IUD to take part in the litigation or file a separate claim against the manufacturers of the birth control device.
If you or a loved one were injured by a Paragard IUD that broke during removal or implantation, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your injuries and medical expenses.
To start the process of filing a claim, it is important to seek the assistance of an attorney with experience in birth control litigation. An experienced attorney can talk with you about your case, help you determine whether you are eligible to take legal action, and guide you through the steps involved in filing a claim.
