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Yasmin/Yaz Lawsuit-Consolidation Sought
 As is common in complex pharmaceutical claims, where a large number of people file lawsuits in federal court against a drug maker with similar allegations that an injury was caused by a side effect of a particular drug, plaintiffs are seeking to consolidate all Yasmin and Yaz birth control lawsuits in an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation, where the individual cases would be assigned to one federal judge.
The motion to form a MDL was filed July 26, 2009 with the U. S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation asking that an MDL be formed for the Yasmin/Yaz litigation, and that all of the cases filed in different federal district courts throughout the United States be transferred to the Northern District of Ohio for coordinated handling.
The Judicial Panel will schedule a hearing to consider whether the cases all involve sufficiently common questions of law and fact, and whether the transfer and coordination will serve the best interests of the parties, the witnesses and the court. If consolidation is ordered, the court will then determine which district would be the most appropriate to oversee the pretrial litigation.
It is expected that consolidation will be ordered as Yaz and Yasmin are essentially the same drug, both containing a combination of ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone. Yasmin was first developed in 2001 by Berlex Laboratories, which was later acquired by Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Yaz was introduced in 2006 by Bayer with a slightly lower amount of ethinyl estradiol.
The drugs are the only oral birth control pills in the United States that contain the progestin drospirenone, which the lawsuits allege increases the risk of side effects like:
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- Cardiac Arrhythmias
- Gallbladder Disease
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
- Sudden Death
Consolidation will allow plaintiffs to pool their resources during pretrial litigation, eliminating duplicative discovery in hundreds or thousands of different cases and avoid inconsistent rulings by judges in different districts throughout the United States.
While most consumers consider MDL consolidation the same as a Yaz/Yasmin class action lawsuit, the cases are not permanently combined and do remain individual claims. Unlike a class action, each plaintiff’s damages are unique and it still must be established that their injuries were caused by side effects of the drug. Although the first trials, commonly referred to as “bellwether” cases, are often tried during pretrial litigation, if the other cases do not settle or otherwise resolve, they will return back to the federal district where they were filed for individual trials.
YAZ AND YASMIN ATTORNEYS
Potential claims are being reviewed throughout the country for women who have suffered heart and other health problems from Yaz or Yasmin. All cases are pursued on a contingency fee basis, which means there will be no fees or expenses until a recovery is obtained
Contact Us
Davis & Crump, P.C. is now handling claims for individuals who have suffered heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, kidney disease, gallbladder disease, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or death as a result of taking Yaz/Yasmin. Davis & Crump, P.C. is experienced in pharmaceutical product liability cases and settlements. If you or a loved one has suffered heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, kidney disease, gallbladder disease, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or death as a result of taking Yaz/Yasmin, contact us at 1-800-277-0300 or send us an email at info@daviscrump.com.
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