Intracranial Meningioma from Depo-Provera Shots Caused Hearing Loss, Vision Loss: Lawsuit

Brain surgery to remove the tumor can put patients at risk of severe and life-altering complications, leaving doctors to carefully weigh surgery, regular monitoring or both.

A Virginia woman’s product liability lawsuit alleges she kept receiving Depo-Provera injections nearly a decade after being diagnosed with a brain tumor due to the manufacturers failure to warn her and other patients of the risks of intracranial meningioma associated with the birth control shot.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Jillian Wann on April 4, naming Pfizer Inc. and Pharmacia & UpJohn Co. LLC. as defendants.

It will be consolidated with similar federal Depo-Provera intracranial meningioma lawsuits from across the country in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, where it was originally filed, as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Depo-Provera Brain Tumor Risks

Originally approved for use in the U.S. in 1992, Depo-Provera (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, or DMPA) is a long-acting birth control injection given to women four times a year. Since its introduction, tens of millions of women have received the “Depo shot,” as it is commonly known.

However, in 2024, scientific research began to link Depo-Provera side effects to intracranial meningioma risks, warning that women receiving the injections may face a five-fold increased risk of developing brain tumors when compared to women who did not take the shots. The brain tumors can grow to cause serious, potentially life-threatening complications, often requiring brain surgery and life-long medical monitoring.

As a result, Wann’s claims join more than 3,500 Depo-Provera meningioma lawsuits filed by women nationwide. Each complaint alleges that Pfizer knew or should have known about Depo-Provera intracranial meningioma risks, yet put women’s health at risk in order to maximize profits.

Depo-Provera Meningioma Allegations

According to the lawsuit, Wann began receiving Depo-Provera injections for contraception in 2001. She indicates neither she nor her doctor were made aware of the brain tumor risks.

In 2003, following two years of injections, Wann began experiencing vertigo, dizziness, vision loss, hearing loss and menstrual cycle irregularities. MRI and CT scans revealed that she had a developing brain tumor. However, Wann continued to receive the injections because she had no information at the time that the brain tumor had any association with her birth control shots.

Wann will require medical monitoring for the rest of her life to track the brain tumor’s growth and weigh whether it is dangerous enough to require removal, which would involve brain surgery and extensive recovery.

“Due to the sensitive location of an intracranial meningioma immediately proximate to critical neurovascular structures and the cortical area, surgery can have severe neurological consequences. Many studies have described the potential for postoperative anxiety and depression and an attendant high intake of sedatives and antidepressants in the postoperative period.”

– Jillian Wann v. Pfizer Inc. et al

The lawsuit also warns that meningioma brain surgery can result in seizures and tend to manifest near the base of the skull, making removal more difficult and complications more likely.

Wann presents claims of failure to warn, design defect, negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design defect, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of warranty.

Depo-Provera Intracranial Meningioma Lawsuits

As part of the Depo-Provera intracranial meningioma lawsuits, Wann’s complaint will go through coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings under U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, who has ordered the parties to prepare five “pilot” cases to serve as bellwether trials.

These early test cases are designed to give the parties an opportunity to see how their arguments, evidence and testimony are evaluated by live juries. Although not binding on other cases, the outcomes of these trials could help the parties form a bedrock for Depo-Provera settlement negotiations.

Before those trials take place, Judge Rodgers has ordered attorneys from both sides to focus on general causation issues to determine whether plaintiffs can use reliable scientific evidence to link Depo-Provera use to brain tumor development. Those hearings are currently scheduled to be held from June 24 to June 26, 2026.

Assuming the general causation requirements are met, the first bellwether trials are currently scheduled to begin in December 2026. If there is no settlement agreement or other resolution to the litigation following the bellwether trials, Judge Rodgers will likely begin remanding cases back to their originating districts to be prepared for individual trials.

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