Depo-Provera Brain Tumor Lawsuit Describes Left-Sided Numbness, Tingling Before Diagnosis

Pfizer faces more than 1,000 similar claims by women who say the manufacturer knew about the Depo-Provera brain tumor risks for decades.

A California woman argues in a recently filed lawsuit that if Pfizer had warned her and other women that the Depo-Provera birth control injection came with an increased risk of brain tumors, they would have chosen a different form of contraceptive, avoiding a devastating meningioma diagnosis.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Shannon VanAtten in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on September 26, naming Pfizer Inc. as the defendant, as well as Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. LLC and Pharmacia LLC, which are generic manufacturers of the drug.

The Depo-Provera injection, often referred to as the “Depo shot,” is a long-acting hormonal contraceptive that only has to be administered once every three months. Given the convenience and ability to avoid the need to take a daily birth control pill, the depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) shot has been injected into tens of millions of women over the past three decades, since it was widely promoted as a safe and effective.

However, VanAtten joins more than 1,000 women now pursuing lawsuits against the drug manufacturers, after several recent studies linked Depo-Provera to increased brain tumor risks. The claims indicate that while doctors and users would not have known the progestin can promote the growth of intracranial meningioma, there is clearly evidence that Pfizer knew about those risks, but failed to provide any warnings or information for women.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff began receiving the Depo-Provera shot in 1996, and continued to receive the injections quarterly until 2011.

As a result, VanAtten indicates she developed “severe and debilitating neurological complications, including left sided numbness and tingling.” In 2015, she was diagnosed with an intracranial meningioma.

Following a craniotomy to remove the tumor, VanAtten suffered a post-operative infection, requiring left scalp debridement and additional brain surgery. The lawsuit notes that she will require medical monitoring and treatment for the rest of her life.

VanAtten indicates Pfizer knew there was an increased risk of Depo-Provera brain tumors before the injections even went on the market, pointing out that intracranial meningioma warnings have been on the label in other countries, including Canada for years.

“The relationship between sex hormones and meningioma tumors has been known since the 1920s, and the presence of progesterone receptors in meningioma tissue has been reported since the 1970s.”

– Shannon VanAtten v. Pfizer, Inc., et al.

VanAtten presents claims of strict liability – failure to warn, strict liability – design defect, negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design defect, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and breach of warranty. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Depo-Provera Brain Tumor Lawsuits

The complaint will be consolidated with similar Depo-Provera brain tumor lawsuits currently centralized as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Florida, where U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Rodgers is leading the parties through the preparation of five pilot lawsuits to be used for a series of early trial dates. These bellwether trials will give the parties an opportunity to see how juries are likely to respond to evidence and testimony expected to be repeated in thousands of claims.

First, Judge Rodgers must rule on a motion for summary judgment filed by Pfizer in early September. The manufacturer wants the cases dismissed, claiming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prevented the company from adding warnings in 2023, which plaintiffs say would have been too little and came far too late. The judge heard oral arguments from both sides on Monday.

If the litigation survives Pfizer’s challenge, a series of pilot, or “bellwether,” trials will move forward. While the verdicts will not be binding on other claims, they are expected to provide important insight into how juries view the evidence and could help shape potential Depo-Provera settlement negotiations.

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