Lawsuit Alleges Depo-Provera DMPA Injection Increases Brain Tumor Risks

Manufacturer knew the synthetic hormone depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) in the birth control shot may increase the risk of developing a meningioma brain tumor, lawsuit claims.

A Colorado woman has filed a Depo-Provera lawsuit alleging that the active ingredient in the popular birth control injections caused the development of a brain tumor, as well as painful headaches, dizziness and blurred vision.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Amy Stivers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on June 17, naming Pfizer, Inc., Viatris Inc., Greenstone LLC, Pharmacia & UpJohn Company, LLC, and Pharmacia LLC as defendants.

At the center of the litigation is depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), a synthetic progestin hormone used in Depo-Provera shots to prevent pregnancy. Originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992, DMPA injections work by suppressing ovulation and is administered through quarterly injections.

However, recent research has raised alarms about DMPA’s potential to stimulate growth in hormone-sensitive tissues, with studies identifying a significant link between long-term DMPA injections and meningioma, a type of brain tumor that can form in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

In late 2024, studies found that women who received Depo-Provera injections containing DMPA may face up to a five-fold increased risk of developing meningioma, especially with extended use. This prompted growing concern among public health experts, particularly given the drug’s widespread use.

Over the past six months, nearly 300 women have filed Depo-Provera DMPA injection lawsuits, each raising similar allegations that users and the medical community were not adequately warned about the risk of brain tumors associated with the birth control shots.

According to her complaint, Stivers began receiving Depo-Provera injections in 2000 for the prevention of pregnancy. She continued to receive the shots over the next decade, continuing on a quarterly basis until at least 2012.

The lawsuit points out that DMPA has long been linked to an increased risk in meningioma tumors, due to the high number of progesterone receptors found in brain tumors.

“In the nine years before Depo- Provera was approved for contraception, and in the thirty-three years since—more than forty years in total—Defendants have seemingly failed to investigate the effect of their high-dose progestin Depo-Provera on the development of meningiomas. Since at least as early as 1989, researchers have also been aware of the relationship between progesterone-inhibiting agents and the growth rate of meningiomas.”

-Stivers v. Pfizer, Inc., et al.

Stivers did not become aware of the brain tumor until receiving a brain scan following a physical assault in 2021. The lawsuit indicates she was unaware of the link between Depo-Provera, DMPA and her brain tumor until this year.

As a result, Stivers suffers from headaches, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, blurry vision, difficulty speaking and cognitive issues, according to the complaint. As a result, she has undergone repeated MRI scans to monitor the growth of the brain tumor, but doctors have not moved to surgically remove it yet.

Stivers presents claims of failure to warn, design defect, negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design defect, negligent representation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and breach of warranty. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Depo-Provera Brain Tumor Lawsuits

Stivers’ lawsuit will be centralized with hundreds of other claims currently pending in the Northern District of Florida, as part of a federal Depo-Provera brain tumor lawsuit multidistrict litigation (MDL), which is currently being overseen by U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers.

Early in the coordinated pretrial proceedings, Judge Rodgers expressed a desire to resolve the litigation quickly and directed the parties to prepare a small group of pilot cases for early trial dates. The court has selected a small group of pilot cases, which are expected to go before juries by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

While the outcomes of these trials will not be binding on other Depo-Provera lawsuits, they will give the parties a chance to see how jurors respond to arguments and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation, which may help the parties reach Depo-Provera settlement agreements.

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