Broken Paragard IUD Lawsuit Selected for First Bellwether Trial

Woman claims she underwent additional surgery to remove broken pieces after the Paragard IUD fractured inside her body.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Paragard IUD lawsuits has selected the first case that will go before a jury, as part of a series of three anticipated bellwether test trials slated to start in early 2026.

Paragard is a small, plastic intrauterine device (IUD), which is placed in the uterus to provide women long-acting protection against pregnancy for up to 10 years.

However, Teva Pharmaceuticals now faces more than 3,200 product liability lawsuits brought by women throughout the U.S., each raising similar claims that they were left with painful and debilitating injuries when the Paragard IUD fractured during use or attempts to remove it, often resulting in the emergency surgery to remove broken Paragard IUD pieces.

Each plaintiff raises similar allegations that the Paragard IUD was defectively designed and is unreasonably dangerous.

Given common questions of fact and law at issue in every broken Paragard IUD lawsuit brought throughout the federal court system, the cases have been consolidated as part of an MDL (multidistrict litigation) in the Northern District of Georgia, where U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May has been presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

As part of the coordinated MDL proceedings, Judge May has established a bellwether program, where a small group of representative cases are being prepared for early trial dates to help the parties gauge how juries are likely to react to certain evidence and expert witness testimony that will be repeated throughout thousands of cases if Paragard settlements are not reached.

In February, Judge May announced the court will hold a series of three Paragard IUD bellwether trials, with the first intended to go before a jury in January 2026. Then in early April, she issued an order (PDF) calling for parties to select five potential first trials from a pool of potential bellwether cases by April 23, with the defendants selecting the first Paragard IUD bellwether trial and plaintiffs selecting the second. Position papers on their choices were due on April 25.

Last week, Judge May issued another court order (PDF) announcing that a claim filed by Melody Braxton, of Florida, will be the first Paragard IUD lawsuit to go to trial.

Braxton had a Paragard implanted in November 2014. However, the device fractured when she had it removed in late 2019, requiring additional surgery to remove the remaining debris from the broken Paragard IUD. The lawsuit indicates Braxton suffered a loss of reproductive health, permanent impairments and disfigurement.

Although the outcome of the Paragard bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on these other claimants, the cases are expected to have a large impact on any negotiations for a potential global Paragard IUD settlement that would avoid the need for each individual case to be remanded back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trial dates in the coming years.