Yaz, Yasmin Blood-Clotting Allegation Lawyers: Resource4thePeople Announces No-Cost Consultations Will Be Available over the Holidays
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) December 25, 2013 -- http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/yasmin.html
Resource4thePeople announced today that its national network of attorneys will be available over the upcoming holiday season to consumers inquiring about legal options to seek compensation over allegations* that the popular contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin may cause life-threatening blood-clotting problems.
“We are proud to announce that our policy of providing free consultations to consumers inquiring about these allegations and their legal options to seek compensation will not be interrupted by the holiday season,” said Resource4thePeople.
The announcement was made after numerous inquiries were made by consumers about whether the Resource4thePeople national network of attorneys would be available over the holiday season to provide legal options to those affected by allegations contained in Yaz and Yasmin (drospirenone) lawsuits,* said Resource4thePeople.
“We have been seeing a steady increase in the number of consumers inquiring about alleged Yaz and Yasmin (drospirenone) side effects since the Food and Drug Administration issued a Health Warning** about possible blood-clotting dangers.”
In its April 10, 2012 Health Warning, FDA officials said the agency had conducted a review and “has concluded that drospirenone-containing birth control pills may be associated with a higher risk for blood clots than other progestin-containing pills. FDA is adding information about the studies to the labels of drospirenone-containing birth control pills.”
There are currently nearly 10,000 lawsuits from across the country containing allegations Yaz and Yasmin may cause life-threatening blood-clotting problems currently consolidated before a single federal court judge.
Those figures*** were compiled by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and show that as of the end of the latest reporting period -- Nov. 18, 2013 -- there were 9,837 Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation.
Some of these lawsuits are being settled, according to a recent financial report**** from pharmaceutical giant Bayer, the manufacturer of Yaz and Yasmin contraceptives. It shows that the company has agreed to pay out nearly $1.6 billion so far to settle cases in the huge U.S. federal court multidistrict litigation.*
The progress of the settlements was recently reported to Judge David R. Herndon, in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois, at a Nov. 14, 2013 status hearing.
The figures about legal costs involving thousands of lawsuits alleging that the contraceptives have caused life-threatening blood-clotting problems were detailed in pharmaceutical giant Bayer's stockholder newsletter for the third quarter of 2013.
The massive payoffs were included in the Oct. 31, 2013 posting informing investors about the financial progress of the company, including an update of its legal costs.
"This is a huge amount of money and shows the extent of how significant the allegations about blood-clotting made by thousands of women are and how they are being compensated for a possibly fatal condition," said Resource4thePeople.
In the third quarter financial report Bayer reported the following details:
"As of October 18, 2013, Bayer had reached agreements, without admission of liability, to settle the claims of approximately 7,660 claimants in the U.S. for a total amount of about US$1.575 billion. Bayer has only been settling claims in the U.S. for venous clot injuries (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) after a case-specific analysis of medical records on a rolling basis. Such injuries are alleged by about 2,300 of the pending unsettled claimants. Bayer will continue to consider the option of settling such individual lawsuits in the U.S. on a case-by-case basis."
Bayer also has agreed to pay up to $24 million to settle other lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation involving allegations over gall bladder side effects, according to the court file in the litigation.
These settlements are a different component of this consolidated litigation in Illinois in which plaintiffs claimed that they suffered gall bladder injuries because they used Yaz and Yasmin as contraceptives.
Meanwhile, as a Sept. 15, 2013 article***** in the Chicago Tribune points out, federal officials are being asked to escalate warnings about possible blood-clotting problems associated with the contraceptives and at least one consumer non-profit organization has called for the products to be pulled from the marketplace.
“The concerns raised by women’s and consumer groups center focus on the same allegations made in the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits --- that the use of these birth control pills may pose life-threatening side effects to the women who use them,” said Resource4thePeople.
The Chicago Tribune article questioned the effectiveness and safety of Yaz and Yasmin contraceptives and cited increased concern about the products from women’s groups:
“Some women's health advocates want a stronger, black-box warning that is more likely to be noticed,” the Tribune reported. “The advocacy group Public Citizen, meanwhile, has placed drugs containing drospirenone — including Yaz, Yasmin, Gianvi and Zarah — on its ‘do not use’ list because they ‘can cause increased blood levels of potassium and (are) no more effective than other oral contraceptives in preventing pregnancy.’ On the Internet, people who call themselves ‘Yaz survivors’ post accounts of their experiences."
In a related matter, the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported that physicians there are linking Yaz and Yasmin to 23 deaths. In a June 12, 2013 posting***** The CBC said that "According to documents obtained from Health Canada, doctors and pharmacists say Yaz and Yasmin are suspected in the deaths of the women, who mostly died suddenly from blood clots."
Health Canada is the Canadian equivalent to the FDA, which, on April 10, 2012, issued a Health Warning informing consumers and physicians about possible Yaz and Yasmin blood clotting side effects.******
Sources:
*In re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2100, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
**http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm299305.htm
***http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-November-18-2013.pdf
****http://www.stockholders-newsletter-q3-2013.bayer.com/en/explanatory-notes.aspx
***** http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-15/health/ct-met-birth-control-risks-20130915_1_drospirenone-clots-pills
******http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/11/birth-control-pills-yaz-yasmin.html
Bill Callahan, iLawSuit, +1 858 602-2749, [email protected]
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