NuvaRing Contraceptive Ring Lawsuits & Investigations
NuvaRing is the trade name for a combined hormonal contraceptive vaginal ring manufactured by Merck (formerly Schering-Plough, formerly Organon), that is available by prescription. It is a flexible plastic (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer) ring that releases a low dose of a progestinand estrogen over three weeks. It is considered to be a “third-generation” birth control method.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers, distributors, and marketers of the NuvaRing birth control vaginal ring, and recent court cases are now allowing these cases to proceed.
We are thus investigating cases of women throughout the United States who have suffered Nuvaring side effects after using the birth control ring. And we are working to help families and individuals who have developed blood clots or suffered from a stroke.
Since the “birth control ring” is a relatively new form of contraceptive, there is a lack of published studies addressing its safety and efficacy as compared to earlier forms of hormonal birth control. As early as 1995 studies had revealed there was an elevated risk of blood clots in contraceptives containing desogestrel compared to second generation birth control that contained other types of progestins. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged this in November 1995, stating that “new studies indicate about a two-fold increase in the risk of venous blood clots associated with products containing desogestrel.” If blood clots form in your legs, referred to as deep vein thrombosis or DVT, they can travel to the lungs and cause blockages (pulmonary embolism).
NuvaRing problems and dangerous side effects appear include:
> Stroke
> Blood clots
> DVT (deep vein thrombosis)
> PE (pulmonary embolism)
These side effects of NuvaRing may be caused by changes in your blood clotting system. Some studies may associate the increased risk of developing blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks with the type of progestin in the contraceptive. Side effects should be immediately evaluated by a doctor, since complications can cause serious injuries – and thus be life-threatening.
As stated above, so-called “third generation contraceptives,” such as the NuvaRing, have been associated with certain hormones which may change your blood clotting system in such a way as to allow blood clots to form more easily. This birth control ring had been approved by FDA back in October, 2001 and was first marketed in the US in July of 2002. The NuvaRing has been used by about 1,000,000 women worldwide.
Following recent Supreme Court decisions made in Wyeth v. Levine, the attorneys for the manufacturers of the Nuvaring had withdrew their motions for summary judgments they filed back in November of 2008. These motions had been arguing that the manufacturers should be totally protected from the state product liabilities Nuvaring lawsuits, since the FDA had “approved” Nuvaring’s warning labels. Plaintiffs who brought the Nuvaring lawsuits claimed that this birth control ring had failed to warn the consumers about the risks of blood clots.
To date, hundreds of NuvaRing lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits allege multiple problems with the advertising of NuvaRing, and the downplaying of its risks and subsequent deaths.
If you, your wife, or a loved one, has been the victim of a NuvaRing injury, please contact Audet & Partners, LLP by calling us toll-free, at 800.965.1461, or by filling out the simple and confidential form on the right hand side of this page. Please act now, since the law may limit your right to recovery if you delay.
