Lawsuit Filed Against Johnson & Johnson in Los Angeles Over Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch

Eleven young women from states around the country filed a personal injury lawsuit on February 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Johnson & Johnson and others including two California companies, that manufactured, marketed and distributed the birth control prescription patch, Ortho Evra.

Los Angeles, Calif.(PRWeb) February 15, 2007 -- Eleven young women from states around the country filed a personal injury lawsuit on February 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Johnson & Johnson and others including two California companies, that manufactured, marketed and distributed the birth control prescription patch, Ortho Evra. (Sara Barnes, et. al vs. Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. Alza Corporation, McKesson Corp. et. al, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC 366176).

The Ortho Evra Patch became commercially available in 2002 and has been prescribed to more than 4 million women. According to the complaint, the patch is one of the most widely prescribed brand-name birth control prescriptions. It is marketed as the first and only once-a-week birth control patch and prevents pregnancies the same way oral birth control pills do--by preventing ovulation, by thickening the cervical mucus and by changing the endometrium to reduce the chance of implantation.

"For years, the defendants claimed the side effects associated with the Ortho Patch were relatively minor, including nausea, headaches and a skin reaction at the site application," says Brian Kabateck, partner with Kabateck Brown Kellner and one of the attorneys filing the suit. "They conveniently forgot to mention that the patch delivers about 60 percent more estrogen than oral contraceptives that is proven to increase the likelihood of blood clots and stroke."

"Johnson & Johnson has consistently downplayed the risks of the patch," Shawn Khorrami of the Law Offices of Shawn Khorrami, who also represents the plaintiffs. "In fact, the amount of estrogen in the patch is comparable to a form of contraceptive pill that was banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 1988."

The complaint says it took the defendants until September 2006 -- four years after the product came to market -- to disclose the results of a study that shows women who used the patch had twice the risk of having blood clots, stroke or other venous thromboembolism reactions. The patch also contains norelgestromin, which the complaint says the FDA has found to increase the risks of venous thromboembolism even further.

"Johnson & Johnson intentionally concealed its own internal studies on the patch that showed its dangers," says Kabateck. "The defendants failed to warn the public, and unfortunately, thousands of women suffered severe injuries or death as a consequence."

The 11 women filing the complaint are from Redlands, California, Alexandria, Virginia, Waldron, Arkansas, Mocksville, North Carolina, Chesapeake, Virginia, New York, New York, Woodbine Georgia and Gary, Indiana. Their ages range from 19 to 42. Eleven experienced blood clots. A 44 year old suffered a stroke. Six experienced a pulmonary embolism.

For a copy of the complaint, contact Diane Rumbaugh at 805-493-2877.

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