Depo-Provera Meningioma Diagnosis Resulted in Invasive Brain Surgery, Lawsuit Alleges

Woman underwent two surgeries to remove potentially dangerous brain tumors, which could be linked to the birth control shot.

A Nebraska woman says she only learned about the potential link between Depo-Provera and brain tumors after suffering bleeding in her eyes and brain, following more than 20 years of receiving the birth control injections.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Amy Samsel in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on July 16, naming Pfizer, Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. LLC, and Pharmacia LLC as defendants.

Pfizer’s Depo-Provera (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate) quarterly birth control injection has been on the market for 30 years and has been used by millions of women, often for 10 years or longer. However, it was only last year that concerns about the shot’s side effects began to grow, following a series of studies that linked Depo-Provera to an increased risk of intracranial meningiomas, with some women facing up to five times the risk of developing brain tumors while taking the injections.

As a result, Samsel’s complaint joins a growing number of Depo-Provera meningioma lawsuits filed against Pfizer and other generic manufacturers, alleging that the companies knew or should have known about the risks, but failed to adequately warn patients and healthcare providers.

Samsel indicates she began receiving the Depo-Provera injections in 2002, and continued to do so until December 2023. The complaint says she and her doctor were told the injections were safe, appropriate and suitable for use as contraceptives.

“During Plaintiff’s prolonged twenty plus year usage and exposure to Defendants’ DMPA, Plaintiff developed concerning neurological symptoms including headaches, blurred vision, dizziness and lightheadedness with visual floaters. After approximately four months of these symptoms, in April 2023 her optometrist observed unspecified papilledema and swelling around the optic nerve with possible bleeding in both of her eyes and recommended medical evaluation.”

–Amy Samsel v. Pfizer Inc. et al

An MRI scan revealed two meningiomas in Samsel’s brain, which her doctors linked to decades of Depo-Provera use. One tumor had grown large enough to shift her brain, cause swelling, and pose a risk of hemorrhage, complications that required two invasive brain surgeries in May and June 2023.

According to the lawsuit, Samsel now suffers from severe psychological distress and faces a heightened risk of recurring neurological problems. She must undergo regular MRIs and CT scans to monitor for tumor regrowth, which could require further surgery.

Her complaint alleges that Pfizer knew, or should have known, about the risk of meningiomas long before Depo-Provera reached the market, citing research dating back to 1983 that links progesterone, the drug’s active ingredient, to brain tumor development.

The lawsuit brings claims of failure to warn, design defect, negligence, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Depo-Provera Meningioma Lawsuits

More than 500 Depo-Provera meningioma lawsuits have been filed in federal courts nationwide, and have been centralized in the Northern District of Florida under U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, who is overseeing coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Rodgers has ordered the parties to prepare five “pilot” cases for a slate of initial test trials. Although the outcomes will not be binding on other claims, they are expected to play a critical role in shaping potential Depo-Provera settlement negotiations, or guiding the path forward if the litigation proceeds to hundreds of individual trials.

If the parties fail to reach a Depo-Provera settlement agreement, Judge Rogers may remand hundreds of claims back to their originating district for individual trial dates.

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