Lawsuit Indicates Risk of Depo-Provera Meningioma Growth Poses Constant Distress

Woman will likely receive regular MRI scans for the rest of her life to monitor the brain tumor’s growth, according to lawsuit.

A Kentucky woman’s Depo-Provera lawsuit indicates the birth control injections have left her with a growing brain tumor in her head that will need monitoring for the rest of her life, and has already caused debilitating, permanent injuries.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Kimberly Moss in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on June 3, as one of a growing number of lawsuits filed against Pfizer, Viatris, Inc. Pharmacia & Upjohn Co., Pharmacia, and Greenstone LLC over brand name and generic versions of Depo-Provera.

Originally developed by the Upjohn Company, which later became part of Pfizer, Depo-Provera is a birth control injection that is administered every three months, containing medroxyprogesterone acetate, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. It is now widely available in both brand name and generic forms. The shots have been used by more than 70 million women worldwide, following years of marketing that promotes the convenience of the quarterly shots over daily birth control pills.

Moss’s claim is part of litigation that has emerged since the publishing of a study in March 2024, which linked Depo-Provera to brain tumor risks. The tumors, known as intracranial meningioma, can be life-threatening, and frequently require surgical intervention. Even when surgery is successful, patients may be left with permanent cognitive or neurological impairments.

According to the lawsuit, Moss was 28 when she first began receiving the birth control injections in 1998. She continued to receive the injections until 2007, receiving about 40 shots in total over the course of nine years.

“Over time Plaintiff developed disturbing symptoms including severe headaches, nausea, and dizziness. After numerous medical visits and testing procedures, Plaintiff underwent an MRI scan which revealed an intracranial meningioma,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff’s diagnosis of meningioma is an exceedingly grave and life-altering condition with severe implications for her physical and neurological well-being.”

The complaint indicates Moss will require ongoing medical monitoring through the use of regular MRI scans to determine the growth and progression of the brain tumor, causing severe stress over Moss’s future health. However, Moss already indicates she has suffered disability, disfigurement, neurological impairment, scarring, and loss of capacity for enjoyment of life as a result of Depo-Provera side effects.

According to the complaint, she was unaware of any connection between her brain tumor and Depo-Provera injections until a 2024 study revealed the potential risk. 

The lawsuit includes claims of failure to warn, design defect, negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design defect, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, and breach of warranty. She is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

June 2025 Depo-Provera Meningioma Lawsuits Update

Moss’s complaint will likely be centralized with about 300 similar claims filed throughout the federal court system before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida as part of a Depo-Provera lawsuit MDL (multidistrict litigation) for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Determined to resolve the litigation quickly, Judge Rodgers is already preparing the litigation for early test trials. She has selected a small group of pilot cases to be prepared 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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