Depo-Provera Brain Tumor Risks Make Birth Control Shot Unreasonably Dangerous: Lawsuit

Lawsuit claims that a woman must live the rest of her life with debilitating conditions, as a direct result of the manufacturer’s negligence.

A New York woman has filed a product liability lawsuit alleging that long-term use of Depo-Provera caused her to develop a meningioma brain tumor, arguing that the popular birth control shot is unreasonably dangerous and was sold without adequate warnings about its side effects.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Tyjhane Manning in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on February 16, naming the manufacturers of Depo-Provera, Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia LLC and Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, as defendants.

Depo-Provera Meningioma Risk

Depo Provera is an injectable contraceptive containing a high dose of the synthetic hormone medroxyprogesterone acetate, administered once every three months to prevent pregnancy.

Approved by the FDA in the early 1990s, it has been widely prescribed for decades, with tens of millions of women receiving the injections. Estimates suggest that approximately one in four U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 49 has used the product at some point.

However, research published in 2024 reported a significantly elevated risk of intracranial meningioma side effects among women who used Depo-Provera, with some data indicating they were more than five times as likely to develop the tumors compared to non users.

Meningioma is a typically slow-growing tumor that forms in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. While often benign, they can cause serious neurological symptoms depending on their size and location, including memory loss, headaches, dizziness, vision disturbances and seizures.

In response to this emerging data, federal regulators updated Depo-Provera’s labeling in late 2025 to include stronger warnings about the potential risk of these kinds of tumors. The revised label advises monitoring for signs of tumor development and recommends discontinuing the injections if a meningioma is diagnosed or suspected.

Manning’s complaint joins nearly 2,100 Depo-Provera lawsuits filed nationwide since this new information emerged, each alleging that manufacturers failed to adequately inform patients or health care providers about the potential association between the birth control shot and meningioma risks.

According to the lawsuit, Manning was diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumor on July 1, 2022, and now has to live with the life-long debilitating condition.

She contends the defendants knew or should have known for years that Depo-Provera’s high-dose progestin formulation could stimulate tumor growth in susceptible patients, yet failed to adequately warn users, even as label changes were made in the UK, EU and Canada.

The complaint alleges that earlier warnings about tumor risks would have altered Manning’s decision to use the drug or prompted closer monitoring for neurological symptoms. She claims the diagnosis and treatment have resulted in significant medical expenses, lost income and diminished quality of life.

“Defendants were fully aware of Depo-Provera’s risks, including that use of Depo-Provera could cause and/or exacerbate intracranial meningiomas, causing severe and life-altering injuries to users and consumers of the drug, including Plaintiff.”

— Tyjhane Manning v. Pfizer Inc. et al

The lawsuit raises allegations of strict liability — failure to warn, strict liability — design defect, negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design, negligent misrepresentation, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation and gross negligence / recklessness. It seeks actual, compensatory, statutory and treble damages for past and future medical costs, pain and suffering, lost wages and other related losses.

Depo-Provera Meningioma Lawsuits

Manning’s case is expected to be transferred to the Northern District of Florida, where thousands of similar claims have already been centralized before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers as part of a federal multidistrict litigation. The court is overseeing coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, and Judge Rodgers has selected five representative cases to proceed as early bellwether trials.

These “bellwether” cases are intended to help both sides evaluate how juries may respond to common evidence and expert testimony that would likely be repeated if the broader litigation continues. 

Judge Rodgers has indicated that the first trial will start on December 7, 2026, involving a lawsuit filed by Donna Toney of Florida, who claims she suffered vertigo, dizziness and hearing loss due to a brain tumor caused by Depo-Provera injections. Additional trials will follow in early 2027.

If the parties are unable to reach a global Depo-Provera brain tumor settlement after the bellwether process, remaining cases could be sent back to their original federal courts for individual trial dates.

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